I'm sorry Charlie...my bad.

I read "datasheet" and thought
"continuous form." If I ever needed
a "datasheet-like" form, I have always
designed a continuous form that "looked
like" a datasheet.

That way I *can* put controls in the form
header.

So...what to do....

1) If you want to put a datasheet
   as a subform in a main form, you
   want to know how to change the
   recordsource of the subform:

   When you add a subform (say "frmSubxxx")
   to a main form (say "frmMain"), that subform
   exists in a *subform control* which may or may
   not have the same name as "frmSubxxx."

  If it is the same name (check Properties of
  your subform control), then the short answer
  for code executed in the main form:

Forms!frmMain!frmSubxxx.Form.RecordSource = strSQL
or
Me!frmSubxxx.Form.RecordSource = strSQL

the "Forms!frmMain!frmSubxxx"
(or "Me!frmSubxxx") gets us to
the subform *control*.

Within that control is a Form (the "actual subform")
which has a RecordSource.

Another way of looking at it

===============
Dim ctl As Control
Dim frm As Form

Set ctl = Me!frmSubxxx
Set frm = ctl.Form

frm.RecordSource = strSQL
=================

So you checked the Properties
of your subform you put on your
main form and you see:

Name :              frmSubxxx
Source Object:  frmSubxxx

using whatever is in *Name*
(of control) line, your event
on the main form might look like
(aircode, untested)

Private Sub optSortBy_AfterUpdate()
On Error GoTo Err_optSortBy_AfterUpdate
   Dim strSQL As String
   Dim strOrderBy As String
   Dim intPos As Integer
   Dim ctl As Access.Control
   Dim frm As Access.Form

   'use Name of subform control here!
   Set ctl = Me!frmSubxxx
   Set frm = ctl.Form

strSQL = "SELECT I.[Sample Number], " _
     & "I.[Stockpile Number], S.[Last Update],  " _
     & "S.[Minus Size], S.[Plus Size], S.Result  " _
     & "FROM [Inbound Samples] AS I " _
     & "INNER JOIN " _
     & "[Sizing Samples] AS S " _
     & "ON I.[Sample Number] = S.[Sample Number] "

   If Me!optSortBy = 1 Then
       strOrderBy= "ORDER BY I.[Sample Number], S.[Plus Size];"
   Else
       strOrderBy= "ORDER BY  S.[Plus Size], I.[Sample Number];"
   End If

   strSQL = strSQL & strOrderBy

   'update recordsource of subform
   frm.RecordSource = strSQL
   frm.Requery

Exit_optSortBy_AfterUpdate:
   Set ctl = Nothing
   Set frm = Nothing
   Exit Sub

Err_optSortBy_AfterUpdate:
   MsgBox Err.Description
   Resume Exit_optSortBy_AfterUpdate

End Sub

2) there are advantages to using a
   continuous form that looks "like"
   a datasheet. Here be a few I can
   think up at the moment:

  a) you can use combobox controls
     for some of the fields, so users can
    only change a field value to "exact"
    value (no mistypes)

  b) your field controls have events like
     "After_Update" where you can put
     some code

   c) you get a form header where, at
       the least, you can put a close-form
       command button so you can close
       the form "gracefully."

   There are probably more, but....

good luck,

gary

"Charlie"wrote: