Automatically adding text to a drop down list choice

[TUPJK]

Say I have a combo box and instead of choosing a choice from the drop down list I choose to enter in a new choice via text input

Is there a way to have this new choice automatically stored in the drop down list portion of the combo box so I can just click that option when I use it next? (like in the next entry I enter in?)

[boblarson]

Yes, and with Access 2007 it is very easy and NO CODE is necessary.

First, have a form for entering the new data. And set its DATA ENTRY property to YES.

Then go to the combo box on the form you currently have and select that new form from the dropdown in List Items Edit Form which is in the DATA tab of the combo box's properties.

And there you go.

[TUPJK]

Thanks again Bob!

[TUPJK]

Do I have to close and re-open the form for this to take effect? It isn't popping up automatically.

[boblarson]

Do I have to close and re-open the form for this to take effect? It isn't popping up automatically.

what should happen is that you type something into the combo box and then hit enter. It should give you a message asking if you want to add that value to the list. Then if you select YES, it will open up the form that I told you to create and put the name of in the combo's List Items Edit Form property. Once you have put in the new information, you close that form and it should now exist in the combo box.

[maax555]

Hi, I have the same issue as the original poster, however on a previous access DB I created (many years ago), when you entered the new data into the field and it was not recognised the pop up box would ask you if you wanted to create/save the data (part Number in my instance). Without leaving the form or field that new entry was created in the part number table and I could simply carry on entering data. This may have been achieved through VB/Macros but such a long time ago.
Is there a way I can achieve this?

[Bob Fitz]

Google: access not in list add to combobox

Post back if you're still stuck

[ArviLaanemets]

You can do it without any coding when the combo's RowSource is a single-column field from table/query, which is the source of form with this combo. I.e. you don't use lookup table, but select any earlier entred value from field of table.

An example:
You have a table SomeTable, with a field SomeField, and a form based on this table. Put a combo into form with field SomeField as source;
Set the RowSource of combo as query

SELECT DISTINCT SomeField FROM SomeTable ORDER BY SomeField ASC

Set the LimitToList property of combo to FALSE (NB! To be able to do so, the RowSource query must return a single field - at least this was the condition when I last tried this!);
Set the BoundColumn property of combo to 1, and the ColumnWidth to e.g. "2.5";
It's all!

To get same functionality for combo using lookup table needs some amount of VBA (I have seen some posts here how to do this, but I never had any need to do this myself!).