How to: Show real data in Design view

Have the control draw the records from its record source in the form's Design view instead of sample nodes, so you can judge the layout with real text and column widths.

Requires WKL Forms Object Library 1.23 or later.

LivePreview determines what Design view shows. It's False by default, because otherwise the control queries the record source every time Access paints the form in Design view, which slows down design work on pass-through queries and large linked tables. Form view and the preview in the designer window always show real data.

On the Other tab of the property sheet, set LivePreview to Yes. Or, in the designer window, go to the Appearance page, Design view section, and turn on Live preview with real data.

In code, with the form open in Design view:

Forms!frmItems!List1.Object.LivePreview = True

• With LivePreview turned off, WklTreeView draws a sample tree, and WklTreeList draws its header and columns with a hint that the data appears when LivePreview is on.
• With lazy loading, Design view shows the root nodes and the levels up to ExpandLevel.
• The value is saved with the form.

• API reference: LivePreview
• Design view shows sample nodes instead of the data
• WklTreeView overview