Automatically resize MS-Access Applications
A major problem in the distribution of MS Access applications is the lack of scalability. Controls are not automatically adjusted depending on the particular resolution in Windows.

Thank you for your feedback. The Access team is currently looking into resizing Access applications, starting with forms. We will provide you with a notification when this is available, and will continue to work on additional resizing/zoom support within different areas of the product at a later time.
26 comments
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Anonymous commented
The form resizing is a very critical issue which the Access Team needs to address. We feel proud when our Access applications get used on a Surface pro, but then there comes the screen resolution issue which the users face. Will truly appreciate if this issue is addressed on high priority looking at the High resolution screens which have entered the market. Thank you in advance.
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Cesar Gonzalez commented
I have an app I built for a client where im resizing controls based on window resizing. Biggest frustration was when I found that Access had a 22inch limit for positioning references. Screen sizes are now much bigger than that! Glad there will be done relief coming!
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George Hepworth commented
Outstanding.
This is one of the most contentious questions we have to field in the forums. As monitor sizes have increased, so have the problems.
A lot of people can hardly wait.....
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isladogs commented
Potentially, that's excellent news.
If you can add support to zoom forms & reports in design view that will be great.
In the meantime I will continue to use my automatic form resizing & zoom form functionality as that works well: http://www.mendipdatasystems.co.uk/automatic-form-resizing-1/4594554784 -
Jf Ruiz commented
Please, in any case implement this with an option at database level, not for the full Access application, so we could decide the behaviour of each acddb we open.
Any other solution will be a fatal mesh for already working development.
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[Deleted User] commented
There's an excellent post on resizing based on screen resolution at https://www.devhut.net/2017/09/08/access-form-resizing-based-on-screen-resolution/ which covers the various options available to developers today. It's probably your best source of information on the subject.
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Daniel Spooner commented
This would be great, it's a real shame form are set sized so I must design for the smallest monitor in the business instead of allowing for some level of dynamic sizing.
Even the ability to have subforms in a grid and either side by side or stacked depending on window size would be handy. -
俊 和男 commented
特になし
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Anonymous commented
Quiero hacer una BD de peliculas, pero grabadas en access, que debo dehacer??
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isladogs commented
I also have free code to automatically resize forms. This is based on open source code originally written by Jamie Czernik back in 2003. However it has been extensively updated since to allow for different monitor form factors, tabbed documents as well as overlapping windows and now also includes a zoom form feature.
For a full explanation, sample database and all necessary code, see my automatic form resizing tutorial at http://www.mendipdatasystems.co.uk/automatic-form-resizing-1/4594554784 -
zawzawlin. commented
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Hardy Edmilao commented
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PCU University of Cambridge commented
SO lagging behind Excel / Word in this respect. Even a basic ZOOM function would help with accessibility.
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Anonymous commented
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Jeff Blessing commented
DPI Awareness is a joke, Microsoft seriously need to fix this, the fact that even the development environment of MS Access is broken by high dpi settings is laughable at best!
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Anonymous commented
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Simon Sheppard commented
It is not so much the resolution but changing the DPI to 120 or 150 will generally completely break the usability of an Access form.
Many users need to have larger text they can read so this is really a serious accessibility issue. -
Ken Mulvihill commented
Anchoring has its limitation and is not useful for a data entry form with many controls including list boxes. Having to build your form for a laptop when 90% of your users are on 34" monitors is a waste of real-estate.
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Ken Ismert commented
Implementing this suggestion implies building a true, working web front-end for Access. Modern browsers do the resizing thing really well.
@Brent Morris -- breathe deeply, and repeat "It's only a program, it's only a program..." -
Phill Barnes commented
I use Anchoring for multiple controls, if you need multiple controls to size rather than just the one to fill the space, you can create a stacked arrangement of the controls and manually set each control to stretch in the direction you wish. As part of the same arrange they will distribute evenly.