I have a form with subforms on it....now the main form has a field called AreaID, which can have values of 1, 2, or 3. I only want to see on this form those records that have an AreaID=1....I tried using the Filter property under data on the form properties...I typed "AreaID="1" and "AreaID=1" but neither worked...

If you use the Form's Filter property in the DesignView of the Form, you need to set the FilterOn property to True by code in the Open or Load Event. Check Access VB Help on the FilterOn property.

There may be other difficulties using this method IIRC, e.g. the user may use a different Filter in the Form processing and this Filter string may replace the Filter string you set. Therefore, if you want to use this, you should always set the Filter and FilterOn properties by code. This way, you ensure that the the Filter string is correct when it is applied.

Personally, I prefer to use the selection in the RecordSource Query or the "wherecriteria" in the OpenForm statement which is used to open the Form.

I tried using this in the On Load event:

Me.Filter = "AreaID= '1'"
Me.FilterOn = True

and it errors out.

Is AreaID a numeric Field?

If it is, you need to use:

oh ok...it is a numeric field. thanks!

You're welcome ... Gld to help ...