Thanks for your responses - that really hepls a lot!!!

Tom,

1) Last I heard/read, the ! syntax is being deprecated in future versions.
2) the "Me" object actually referrs to the current instance of the open form
(it is possible to have multiple instances of the same form open
simultaneously)

Thus, in code, forms!MyOpenForm!MyControl could be an ambiguous reference if
multiple instances of a form are open simultaneously (this is a problem for
queries too - if a query driving a combobox list has forms!myform!myControl
as a Where conditional expression, which instance of the "myform" form and
which copy of the control value will the query return when it executes?)

Within form VBA code, this potential ambiguty is eliminated by the use of
"Me."

Thus, my preference for "me.controls("myControl").value"-style syntax is
more bulletproof. Yes, it is more verbose, but this helps in another way: the
code is more self-documenting, so when you have to tweak something you
haven't looked at for 6+ months when you open it up, the code meaning is
easy(/easier) to discern (even for a different person). The terseness of the
!-style syntax works against code readability and maintainability IMO.

Also, with the  .-style syntax allows for more programming flexibilty and
increased data-drivability of your code. Consider that:
me.controls(strSomeControlNameVariableHere).value
allows you to programatically determine which control you are referencing at
run-time. Try that with your
"me!FixedControlNameHere.value"-syntax.

Oh...and Me.Name will return the name of the form as a string (...which it
is also the reason it is a bad idea to use "Name" as either Field or Control
names), but you knew that, right?     ;-)