How to set up dropdown list options in access?

2 years ago
Liam
3 minutes

In Access, you can use the form designer to set the options for a dropdown list. Here are the steps to set the dropdown list options.

  1. Open Access and open the form that you want to edit.
  2. Select the field or control to which you want to add a dropdown list in the form designer.
  3. In the properties window, locate the “Row Source Type” property and set it to “Value List”.
  4. In the “Row Source” property, enter the options for the dropdown list. Separate each option with a semicolon (;). For example: Option 1; Option 2; Option 3.
  5. Save the form and execute it. Now, the field or control will display a dropdown list, allowing the user to select an option from it.

In addition to the methods mentioned above, you can also use queries as the row source for a drop-down list. This allows for more flexibility in retrieving options from a table or query.

Below are the steps for using a query as the data source for a drop-down list:

  1. Create a query to retrieve options for a dropdown list. The query should return at least two columns, one for the display value and another for the actual return value.
  2. Select the field or control in the form designer where you want to add a drop-down list.
  3. In the property window, locate the “Row Source Type” property and set it to “Table/Query”.
  4. In the “Row Source” property, enter the name of the query or SQL statement.
    For example: SELECT DisplayValue, ReturnValue FROM OptionsTable
  5. In the “Bound Column” property, enter the index of the column where the actual value is returned. The indexing starts from 1.
    For example, if the actual value is in the second column returned by the query, set the “Bound Column” to 2.
  6. In the “Column Count” property, input the number of columns returned by the query. For example, if the query returns two columns, set the “Column Count” to 2.
  7. In the “Column Widths” property, input the width of each column, separated by a semicolon (;). For example, if a query returns two columns and you want the first column to be 100 pixels wide and the second column to not be displayed (width 0), then set “Column Widths” to 100;0.
  8. Save the form and execute it. Now, the field or control will display a drop-down list, allowing the user to select an option from it.

The above are the basic steps for setting up drop-down list options in Access. By utilizing the “Row Source” property and other related properties, you can further customize the appearance and functionality of the drop-down list.

bannerAds