Drop Down List

[CATaylor]

I am designing a database to trace bid request info. I have created a
(table)"project list" containing project name & project location, and I have
created a (table)"general contractor list" containing gc name & other info.
I have then created a (table) "bid request list" in which I have been able to
show drop downs in the project name & gc name fields, but it will not let me
select this info. It either skips right over it, leaving the field blank, or
resorts to auto entering the 1st one alphabetically even tho it's not what
I've selected. What am I doing wrong? I know it's something in the design.
Need some help. Is it a query?

 

[John W. Vinson]

I am designing a database to trace bid request info. I have created a
(table)"project list" containing project name & project location, and I have
created a (table)"general contractor list" containing gc name & other info.
I have then created a (table) "bid request list" in which I have been able to
show drop downs in the project name & gc name fields, but it will not let me
select this info. It either skips right over it, leaving the field blank, or
resorts to auto entering the 1st one alphabetically even tho it's not what
I've selected. What am I doing wrong? I know it's something in the design.
Need some help. Is it a query?

First off... don't use Table datasheets for data entry. They are VERY limited,
even when you use Microsoft's misdesigned, misleading, and again very limited
Lookup Field misfeature (http://www.mvps.org/access/lookupfields.htm).

Instead, use a Form based on your table. Put combo boxes on the *form*, not in
the table.

There's no way to tell from your post what you did wrong, but look at the
combo's Row Source (the query *from which it gets its data*), Bound Column
(which field in that query is the value of the combo box), and COntrol Source
(the field into which the selected value will be stored).

 

[tina]

two things you need to fix right off the bat:

1) get rid of the Lookup fields in the linking table "bid request list". to
do that, open the table in Design view, select each field in turn and select
the Lookup tab in the bottom portion of the window, then change the
DisplayControl setting to Textbox. for more information on *why* you should
do this, see http://www.mvps.org/access/lookupfields.htm.

1.5) make sure one field in the table is the same data type as the *primary
key field* of tblProjectList (NOT the project name field), and make sure the
other field is the same data type as the *primary key field* of
tblGeneralContractorList (again, NOT the gc name field). these two fields
are "foreign key fields" linking back to those primary key fields in their
respective "parent" tables.

2) don't do the data entry directly in tables; *forms* are the correct venue
for adding/editing/reviewing/deleting records. build a form with
tblBidRequestList as the RecordSource. add a combobox control, set its'
ControlSource to the foreign key field that links to tblProjectList. set
its' RowSource to tblProjectList. you want the combobox control to *show*
the project names, but *store* the project primary key value in
tblBidRequestList. so read up on the following properties of the combobox
control, so you'll understand how it works, and come back with specific
questions if you run into difficulties there.

once you have the first combobox control set up and working correctly, add a
second combobox control to the form, with ControlSource set to the foreign
key field that links to tblGeneralContractorList, and RowSource set to
tblGeneralContractorList. set it up like the other one, to *show* the gc
names, but *store* the primary key value.

and finally, if talk of primary and foreign keys is unfamiliar to you, then
recommend you read up on relational design principles, so you'll understand
how to make Access work for you, and find it easier to understand the
answers you get here in the ngs. for more information, see
http://home.att.net/~california.db/tips.html#aTip1.

hth

 

[tina]

so read up on the following properties of the combobox

control

oops! those would be:

RowSourceType
RowSource
ColumnCount
ColumnHeads*
ColumnWidths
BoundColumn*
ListRows*
ListWidth
LimitToList
AutoExpand*

the asterisk (*) indicates the properties you'll probably most often leave
at the default setting.

hth