Document Editing Problems

How to Display More Than 255 Characters in an Access Text Box

Bushra Parveen Oct 10, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to display the full text of a Long Text field in an Access form text box, which is currently truncating at 255 characters.

How to Display More Than 255 Characters in an Access Text Box

Product: Microsoft Access
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Viewing or editing records containing Long Text data on a Microsoft Access form.
Observed behavior: The form's text box only displays the first 255 characters of the Long Text field, even though the data is not truncated in reports.

Before you start

Ensure that the underlying table field data type is actually set to 'Long Text' (formerly 'Memo') rather than 'Short Text', as Short Text is strictly limited to 255 characters by design.

Solution 1Recommended

Recreate the Text Box and Configure Properties

Manually adding a new text box and adjusting its properties resolves issues where the control fails to display full multi-line text.

Sometimes, simply dragging a field from the Field List applies default settings that restrict display behavior. Manually creating the control and enabling scrollbars allows the text box to hold and display up to 64,000 characters properly.

Open Form in Design View

Right-click the form in the navigation pane and select 'Design View'. Delete the problematic text box.

Add a New Text Box Manually

Go to the 'Form Design' tab, click the 'Text Box' icon in the Controls toolbox, and draw it on your form.

Bind the Control Source

Open the Property Sheet (press F4). On the 'Data' tab, set the 'Control Source' property to your Long Text field.

Set Enter Key Behavior

Navigate to the 'Other' tab in the Property Sheet and change 'Enter Key Behavior' to 'New Line in Field'.

Add a Vertical Scroll Bar

Switch to the 'Format' tab in the Property Sheet and change the 'Scroll Bars' property to 'Vertical'. This ensures hidden text can be viewed if it exceeds the physical size of the box.

Recreate the Text Box and Configure Properties

Verify Display: Switch back to Form View to verify that the full text is now visible and you can scroll through the entire description.

Solution 2

Remove Truncation Causes in the Underlying Query

Fix implicit truncation caused by query properties like grouping, sorting, or formatting applied to a Long Text field.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Access automatically truncate Long Text fields in queries?

Access truncates Long Text (formerly Memo) fields to 255 characters in a query if the field is manipulated. This happens during grouping (GROUP BY clauses), sorting (ORDER BY), using the DISTINCT keyword, or when applying formatting functions. To prevent this, avoid performing these operations directly on the Long Text field.

What is the maximum character limit for a Long Text field in MS Access?

A Long Text field in Microsoft Access can hold up to 65,535 characters when entered via the user interface (such as a form). If populated programmatically via VBA, it can store up to 1 gigabyte of text (roughly 500 million characters).

Will enabling the 'Can Grow' property fix hidden text in Form View?

No. The 'Can Grow' and 'Can Shrink' properties are designed to expand or collapse controls only when a form is printed or when viewing a Report. In standard Form View, these properties have no effect. Instead, you must add a vertical scroll bar to the text box so users can scroll to see the remaining text.

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