Applies ToAccess for Microsoft 365 Access 2024 Access 2021 Access 2019 Access 2016

You can use the DeleteObject action in Access desktop databases to delete a specified database object.

Note: This action will not be allowed if the database is not trusted.

Note: The DeleteObject macro action isn't available in Access web apps.

Setting

The DeleteObject action has the following arguments.

Action argument

Description

Object Type

The type of object to delete. Click Table, Query, Form, Report, Macro, Module, Data Access Page, Server View, Diagram, Stored Procedure, or Function in the Object Type box in the Action Arguments section of the Macro Builder pane. To delete the object selected in the Navigation Pane, leave this argument blank.

Object Name

The name of the object to delete. The Object Name box shows all objects in the database of the type selected by the Object Type argument. If you leave the Object Type box blank, leave this box blank also.

If you run a macro containing the DeleteObject action in a library database, Access first looks for the object with this name in the library database, and then in the current database.

Warning: If you leave the Object Type and Object Name boxes blank, Access deletes the object selected in the Navigation Pane without displaying a warning message when it encounters the DeleteObject action.

Remarks

You can use the DeleteObject action to delete temporary objects you have created while running the macro. For example, you could use the OpenQuery action to run a make-table query that creates a temporary table. When you are finished using the temporary table, you can use the DeleteObject action to delete it.

This action has the same effect as selecting an object in the Navigation Pane and then pressing the DEL key, or right-clicking the object in the Navigation Pane and clicking Delete.

To run the DeleteObject action in a Visual Basic for Applications module, you can use the DeleteObject method of the DoCmd object.

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