creating a look up field

[dotolee]

hi there.
i have a form with a bunch of bound fields. I'd like to provide a drop down list for the last name field so that if / when they type in a name that already exists, the record information is populated on the form.
is this possible?

 

[fneily]

Is this a home work problem? When you run the combobox wizard, take a look at the third option of matching the selection to the record.

 

[dotolee]

i'm not sure i understand your question...
I apologize if the question is a little silly - based on my background, letting wizards automatically do things for you was always a bad thing because you don't learn ... and it generates alot of extra stuff in certain cases, that you don't need. mbe this isn't so much of a problem with ms access.
thanks though for the response.

 

[fneily]

Not silly, just basic. And who said letting the wizards do some work is bad? In fact, using Excel as an example, one way to learn coding is to create a macro then look at the code generated to see the syntax, logic, etc. Same is true when you create command buttons - the command button wizard produces some code, then you can see how it's done or modify it. Queries - it's easier to use the QBE pane than directly coding the SQL in most cases. Need a basic form, use the form wizard. Etc. My opinion.

 

[dotolee]

i'm sure it has it's places - just not my knee jerk reaction to use a wizard... was a vb dev in a past life and vb had a lot of wizards for forms... but found it best to do things the manual way for ease of troubleshooting and preventing bulky code.
Thanks again.

 

[missinglinq]

I agree with Fred completely! It's an excellent way to learn, and IMHO, anyone who insists on doing everything "by hand" is just plain foolish. The Wizards are a big part of what gives Access its RAD capability, and viewing the code generated by them can be very instructive. Chances are, you'll have less "troubleshooting" to do using the wizards than writing code by hand. As to the "extra stuff" it generates, the only thing I can think of you're referring to is the error handling code that Access insists on; hardly something that "not needed!"

The Missinglinq

Richmond, Virginia

There's ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat!

 

[dotolee]

so i've been playing around with the wizard and i can't seem to locate this "third option of matching the selection to the record. " I specify that i want the value to come from a table on the first screen, then i select the field i want, specify the field on the form it should be "bound" to ... then the wizard exits.
Can you tell me what I'm missing ?
Sorry if this is another basic question - i'm a newbie to ms access.

 

[dotolee]

I found my mistake. the new form that i created just to play around with didn't have a record source specified... i just created a blank form and dropped the combo box on and went through the wizard...
retried using my databound form and got it to work...
thanks. I've never seen this third option before and i think this has been the culprit all along.
thank you. now i see why you thought my question was so basic... because if the form properties are set first, the option i was looking for appears on screen 1 of the combo box wizard...

thanks for your help / patience.

 

[fneily]

Since you code, it's like seeing a missing period. You can look for hours, then ask someone for help and they go "you spelled that wrong" or something. Drives you nuts. At least you're back to work.