ACC2000: How to Open a Combo Box Automatically (209585)

SUMMARY

When you are entering a large amount of data and want to open a combo box, it is inconvenient to have to press additional keys or stop to use the pointer. In Microsoft Access, you can use the Dropdown method to force the list in the specified combo box to drop down. Using this method is identical to pressing the F4 key when the control has the focus.

MORE INFORMATION

The following steps show how to create a new form with a combo box named EmpLastName that will automatically display the list when you select the combo box.

Open the sample database Northwind.mdb or Access project NorthwindCS.adp.

Create a new form with the following controls:

   Form: MyForm
   ------------------------------
   ControlSource: Employees Table

   Text box
   -----------
   Name: Text0

   Combo box
   -----------------------------------------------------
   Name: EmpLastName
   Row Source Type: Table/Query or Table/View/StoredProc
   Row Source: SELECT [LastName] FROM Employees;

   Command button
   ---------------------------
   Name: Command4

Set the combo box's OnGotFocus property to the following event procedure:

Private Sub EmpLastName_GotFocus()
   EmpLastName.Dropdown
End Sub

Open your form in Form view, and press the TAB key to move to your combo box.

REFERENCES

For more information about the Dropdown method, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type Dropdown method in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.