Microsoft® Access® 2010 24-Hour Trainer

13

Creating Value List Fields

Tables in Access often have fields that contain a value list of options for the user to choose from (instead of having users type the text). Access 2010 makes it very easy to create value list fields and even provides built-in dialogs to allow the user to update the values in the list. The values can be static and typed into the Row Source property of the lookup field, or from values that are either in a table or returned using a query as a data-driven list.

One of the main reasons for using a lookup field (data-driven list field) is to provide a method to increase the consistency of data being entered into a field. If the three choices allowed for a city name field for a retail outlet store are Tallahassee, Talladega, and Tuscaloosa, relying on the users' spelling skills will probably result in hundreds of spelling variations, making any searches for individual city names virtually impossible. Providing a drop-down list that includes only the correct options ensures that the correct spellings (and data formats) are used. This lesson discusses the various options for building list fields for tables using Access 2010.

LESSON SETUP

In this lesson, you learn how to create list fields using both value lists and values from tables or queries. The Lesson 13 files should be downloaded from the book's website to complete this lesson, and you should be familiar with creating database objects and working with tables.

LIST FIELDS IN ACCESS

Access has two list ...