Dirty Property

Applies to

You can use the Dirty property to determine whether the current record has been modified since it was last saved. For example, you may want to ask the user whether changes to a record were intended and, if not, allow the user to move to the next record without saving the changes. Read/write Boolean.

expression.Dirty

expression Required. An expression that returns one of the objects in the Applies To list.

Remarks

The Dirty property uses the following settings.

This property is available in Form view and Datasheet view.

This property set or read using a macro or Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code.

When a record is saved, Access sets the Dirty property to False. When a user makes changes to a record, the property is set to True.

Example

The following example enables the btnUndo button when data is changed. The UndoEdits( ) subroutine is called from the AfterUpdate event of text box controls. Clicking the enabled btnUndo button restores the original value of the control by using the OldValue property.

Sub UndoEdits()
    If Me.Dirty Then
        Me!btnUndo.Enabled = True    ' Enable button.
    Else
        Me!btnUndo.Enabled = False    ' Disable button.
    End If
End Sub
Sub btnUndo_Click()
    Dim ctlC As Control
        ' For each control.
        For Each ctlC in Me.Controls
            If ctlC.ControlType = acTextBox Then
                ' Restore Old Value.
                ctlC.Value = ctlC.OldValue
            End If
        Next ctlC
End Sub