I want to make a command button blink

[fidleid]

I have a form and on that form I have some command buttons. I need to make one button blink so it catches the attention of the users. The button has text as a caption and it runs a macro that accesses the internet. I am using office 97 but I have all version available to me.

thanks

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi fidleid,

I don't know how to do it (although I daresay it can be arranged with some trickery) but I'm real glad I'm not one of your users.

When monitors were monochrome there were limited options available for drawing attention to a particular element on screen and so blinking was sometimes used. It was so annoying to users that as soon as colour screens were available people made use of colour instead and it is almost universally accepted that blinking elements on screen are poor design. I seriously recommend you rethink your form layout.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[KenWright]

Amen to that!!!!!!!!!

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[Phaed]

Double amen to that!

 

[buddafish]

ouch! that hurts my eyes... triple amen to that

 

[DaleWatson123321]

I agree with the no blinking, but what about an alternative... such as making the BACKGROUND of the button YELLOW, with all the other buttons remaining grey.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Dale Watson

 

[Phaed]

or making the caption a different color; or a different style...just not blinking. BTW: consider some read up on color blindness regarding use of specific colors.

 

[fidleid]

This is a safety circuit in a nuclear lab. When the data in this field reaches a certain level I need to make the button blink so a supervisor has to reset it. I have protected the table with a passwords so the supervisors must login in order to press the button. If when the button is pressed, the level has go down to a safe level the button will no longer be on the screen. This particular form is only on screen until the button is clicked. So if it is flashing it will be clicked before anyone does anything else on the screen. Thanks for the input.

 

[fidleid]

BTW this is a research lab so English is out of the question. I have tried many captions etc. and none seem to work. There are 21 buttons on the form and I have made this one bigger, different colors and different fonts. I still get the calls in the middle of the night. These people do not sit in front of the computer but would move to it in an emergency or spy the blink when passing by. I guess it is clear that no one has an answer. So how about animating the text. Have any suggestions on that one?

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi fidleid,

Thanks for that feedback. I guess you may have some justification for your request and may, perhaps, not want to say too much about it but you have safety in a nuclear lab dependent upon an Office application (you don't say which but your mention of a table makes me think Access) accessing the internet - I can't say that helps me to sleep at night!!

If you have (as it sounds like) something approximating to real time display you must be constantly refreshing your screen display - can you not incorporate something into that logic that alternately changes the background colour of the button (or the form) you want to blink?

Enjoy,
Tony

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[fidleid]

this is a command button on an access form. Office 97. In this particular case the button flashes when a data disk is nearly full so the users is warned to clean up the disk before the data collection stops because of a full disk. Before you say get a bigger disk I have found there is no such thing in a research lab. These people will fill the disk before the clean up. In fact I have found that smaller disks make them more conscientious about cleaning up their area. We collect 18 Meg images every 2 minutes 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. We have 3 collection systems putting data on the disk and we use a RAID system to protect the data. We backup to tape too but the vendors software does not look ahead to see if the there is enough disk space so the program just crashes when the disk if full. So if we are radiating a very rare sample and the computer crashes 4 days into a 7 day run we not only lose time but we lose the sample. In order to maintain integrity in the experiment we have to start over again. That is not good if you have limited number of samples. When the disk is nearly full we have them go to our instruction manual (on the web) to tell them how to compress and/or clean their data. By them I mean graduate students, post docs or professors. This is a group that needs a lot of help when it comes to pushing a button. So when my phone rings at 3 am and someone on the other end is from "outside the US" and I say click the button on the up right they think I said turn off the light. So I end up going in at 3 am to push that button. I am finished taking up your time with this one.

 

[SimonDavis]

OK, looks like you had a hard time here . . . I'd have to agree that in a nuclear research lab, a few flashing buttons are eminently sensible . . .!

The problem is that to make a button flash using code, which can be done, you are going to risk interrupting it to do anything else - if you can halt the whole application until the person takes notice and clicks the button, it would work OK, but I guess that's not practical.

So it has to be a property of the button - first thing I'd try was to make it a gif, instead of a button, which changes to an animated igf when it wants attention, but Im not sure an access form will run an animated gif.

So, my 2 cents worth would be to have a dialog box pop up instead - it can't be ignored, and you can put clear instructions on it, and make it keep coming back until your user solves the problem.

Failing that, you could just put your phone number on the dialog. Heh.

 

[xlbo]

Maybe you could have the caption change and the button grow when it gets to the limit instead of flashing - that would only take 1 linear routine rather than a looping routine... Personally, I feel that a very large button with the words "PUSH ME NOW" on it would be fairly hard to miss !

Rgds, Geoff

"Having been erased. the document thjat you are seeking. Must now be retyped"

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[TonyJollans]

I tend to agree with Geoff that if you maximize your Form and make it all red with big writing it ought to catch someone's eye. How many of the other 20 buttons are really needed when the big red one is flashing?

As far as making something flash, I had a quick test and couldn't get an animated GIF onto a button at all and when I put one as a Form background it didn't run the animation. So I'll have to think of something else to try. If I don't find it, someone else will - don't give up on us yet!!

Enjoy,
Tony

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[xlbo]

The other thing I noticed is that part of the issue seems to be in describing WHICH button to press - could you also lock all the other buttons so that they cannot be pressed (just use .enabled = false). Then, the answer is - press ALL the buttons until one works !!!

Rgds, Geoff

"Having been erased. the document thjat you are seeking. Must now be retyped"

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question

 

[fidleid]

I used a timer loop as described on the Microsoft site. Text blinks off and on slowly and I can change the time as needed.

A comment: I have been a member for awhile and have never been treated quite like some of you have treated me. I felt like I was talking to Nick Burns the computer geek on Saturday Night Live.


Thanks for those kinder souls.

 

[xlbo]

fidleid - this IS a technical site. As such, you must expect some technical answers BUT having said that, I have reviewed all the posts in this thread and I cannot find any that I think would cause you to feel like that. I will admit that the 1st few responses were negative to flashing text but after you explained WHY it was necessary, I feel you have been given a lot of sympathy and a LOT of ideas.

Would you mind giving an indication which post or what text has made you feel like that - it will help us to help others better in future.

Rgds, Geoff

"Having been erased. the document thjat you are seeking. Must now be retyped"

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question

 

[KenWright]

LOL - fidleid, don't pay us no mind in that respect.

You have to remember that we see a whole host of questions on a regular basis, and this one in particular is one that makes most people blanch in disgust. You however, are the very first person who has come back with what I would term a valid reason for actually wanting it (Though like Tony, I don't think I will sleep well now ). Doesn't mean it can't be solved in some other way, but you should have noted how the conversation changed when you explained what it was for, and suddenly people were falling over themselves to offer possible suggestions or workarounds.

We're just generally a jovial crew that generally have a passionate hatred of blinking cells, so sincere apologies if anything came across in a manner it wasn't intended to.

Best Wishes
Ken................


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[Phaed]

my 2 cents worth. I agree with the others. At first the whole idea seems archaic and a pain. HOWEVER, as in many, many cases of posts here, when some one truly explains their purposes (as opposed to simply tossing out a request), then things DO change. Very sorry that you felt the initial jocularity was not jocularity. As has been pointed out, once we knew that this is a serious request - not just someone want trying to be cool ( remember the blinking crap on earlier web sites?...ugh ugh ugh)...then the tone decidedly changed, and people ARE willing to try and find a solution for you. This is why it is SO important to be up front and clear as to both requests for help/assistance, and clarity in expressing the reason for that need.

Back to your problem. You need SOMETHING to get attention that is dependent on a condition. How and by what method does that conition get passed to the form? Certainly it is possible to use a timer. However, if we had some idea of how the information is passed to the form that demands the button to be pressed, perhaps we can help more.

My first question is this:

if there is some condition that passes information to a form that requires a button being pressed, why is there user input in the first place? if a conditon is critical enough to REQUIRE a button pressed, then it seems to be that the conditon is critical enough to push the button (i.e.firing / executing something) directly.

Again, sorry that you felt negativity from us, but please persist. What you asking (in itself) is something generally most of us do not like, however, the REASON for such an attention focus is decidedly more important that a blicking "Click Me!" link on a scummy web site. So keep hanging in here, as hopefully some sort of resolution will be forthcoming.

Again, could you tell us, WHAT, specifically, determines that this button demands attention. Are you saying thar at OTHER times, the button is still there to be pushed, but the condition is not critical? If so, (please do clarify), then again, why not make the thing fire on its own?

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi fidleid,

I'm sorry if I've offended in some way; it certainly wasn't intended.

All of the regulars here (including myself, Geoff and Ken) like to see the best applications possible and we give of our time freely, because we enjoy it, to help in any way we can. There is a little banter now and again but we normally limit ourselves to technical posts.

I am always happy (if sometimes embarrassed) to be corrected. In the first instance my view of the best way to help was to advise against doing what you were asking. When you explained I was happy to try and help in any way I could and am sorry you feel as you do. I'm afraid I don't watch much television and have no idea who Nick Burns is (it makes me feel a bit like one of those high court judges who occasionally come across as being so very different from the ordinary man in the street).

I am glad that you have got sorted and I hope it puts an end to your night time calls - I do know how it feels.

Enjoy,
Tony

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