Office Settings & Configuration

Fix Gray Band Below an Access Form After Resizing

Muhammad Talha Oct 13, 2026 868 views

Question details

Users need to remove a horizontal gray band that appears at the bottom of an Access 2021 form when it is maximized and resized.

Fix Gray Band Below an Access Form After Resizing

Product: Microsoft Access 2021
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Maximizing and resizing a form where NavigationButtons is set to False and ScrollBars is set to Horizontal Only or Both.
Observed behavior: A visual glitch consisting of a horizontal gray band is displayed below the form's content when a horizontal scrollbar is triggered.

Before you start

Verify that your form properties have NavigationButtons set to False and ScrollBars enabled, and ensure you have access to edit the form's VBA code in Design View.

Solution 1Recommended

Refresh Scrollbar Settings via the Form Resize Event

Use a VBA workaround to dynamically remove and reapply the scrollbar settings when the form is resized, preventing the gray band from rendering.

This visual glitch is related to how Access calculates the window frame when navigation buttons are hidden but scrollbars are active. By rapidly toggling the scrollbar property during the form's Resize event, you force Access to redraw the window frame correctly without the gray band.

Open the form in Design View

Right-click your form in the navigation pane and select 'Design View' to access the form properties.

Access the On Resize event

Press F4 to open the Property Sheet, navigate to the 'Event' tab, find the 'On Resize' property, and click the ellipsis (...) button.

Open the Code Builder

Select 'Code Builder' from the prompt to open the VBA editor for this specific form.

Insert the VBA workaround

Inside the Private Sub Form_Resize() block, enter two lines of code: first 'Me.ScrollBars = 0' (to turn them off), then 'Me.ScrollBars = 3' (to turn both on) or your preferred scrollbar setting.

Save and test the form

Save your VBA module, close the editor, switch your form back to 'Form View', and resize the window to verify the gray band no longer appears.

Refresh Scrollbar Settings via the Form Resize Event

VBA Implementation: Executing this VBA snippet occurs instantaneously to the user, forcing the form to render without the gray band while keeping performance unaffected.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the gray band appear in Access forms?

It is a known rendering glitch in Microsoft Access 2021 that triggers when resizing a form that has Navigation Buttons disabled and Horizontal Scrollbars enabled, confusing the window's bounding box calculation.

Will this VBA fix impact form performance?

No, resetting the scrollbar properties via the Me.ScrollBars command executes instantaneously during the resize event and does not noticeably affect form performance or database load times.

What does Me.ScrollBars = 3 mean in Access VBA?

In Access VBA, the ScrollBars property accepts integer values. Setting it to 3 enables both horizontal and vertical scrollbars, while setting it to 0 disables them completely. Values 1 and 2 correspond to Horizontal Only and Vertical Only, respectively.

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