Combo Boxes in MS Access

A Combo Box combines a text box with a drop-down list. Depending on its properties, users can select an existing value or enter a value manually.

Example: Course Selection

Uses of Combo Boxes

• Selecting a course during student admission.
• Selecting a city or state.
• Selecting a payment method.
• Selecting a department or category.
• Choosing a related record, such as a student or teacher.

Follow these steps to create a Combo Box in MS Access:

1. Open your Access database.
2. Open the required form in Design View.
3. Select the Design tab on the ribbon.
4. Ensure Use Control Wizards is enabled if you want guided setup.
5. Select the Combo Box control from the Controls group.
6. Click the location where you want the Combo Box.
7. Follow the Combo Box Wizard, if it opens.
8. Configure the list source and stored value as required.
9. Finish the wizard and save the form.
10. Open the form in Form View to test the Combo Box.

A Combo Box can obtain its list values from different sources. The Row Source Type property determines how Access interprets the Row Source.

Choose the source that best suits the data you want users to select.

A Value List is useful when the list contains a small number of fixed choices that do not need to come from another table.

Example: Payment Mode

Suppose users can choose from these payment methods:

• Cash
• UPI
• Bank Transfer

Configure the Combo Box

1. Open the form in Design View.
2. Select the Combo Box.
3. Open the Property Sheet by pressing F4.
4. Open the Data tab.
5. Set Row Source Type to Value List.
6. Set Row Source to the following values.

Cash;UPI;Bank Transfer

The Combo Box will display these three choices. Configure its Control Source if the selected value needs to be saved to a field.

When list values are stored in another table, use Table/Query as the Row Source Type. This makes the list easier to maintain when records are added or changed.

Example: Courses Table

SQL for the Row Source

SELECT CourseID, CourseName
FROM Courses
ORDER BY CourseName;

Configuration Steps

1. Open the form in Design View.
2. Select the Combo Box.
3. Open the Property Sheet and select the Data tab.
4. Set Row Source Type to Table/Query.
5. Set Row Source to the SQL statement above, or select the Courses table/query using the builder.
6. Set Bound Column to 1 if you want to store CourseID.
7. Set Column Count to 2.
8. Set Column Widths to hide the ID and show the course name, for example 0cm;5cm.
9. Save the form and test the Combo Box.

Bound Column specifies which column in a Combo Box supplies the value returned or stored by the control. The first column is column 1, not column 0.

Example

If the properties are:

• Column Count = 2
• Bound Column = 1
• Column Widths = 0cm;5cm

The user sees the course name, but the control returns the CourseID. This is useful when storing relationships between tables.

The Limit To List property controls whether users can enter values that are not in the Combo Box list.

Limit To List = Yes

• Users must choose a value from the list.
• Values outside the list are not accepted as valid entries.
• Useful for fixed course names and categories.

Limit To List = No

• Users may enter a value that is not in the list, depending on the control configuration.
• Useful when additional values may be entered manually.

How to Change the Property

1. Open the form in Design View.
2. Select the Combo Box.
3. Press F4 to open the Property Sheet.
4. Select the Data tab.
5. Find Limit To List.
6. Choose Yes or No.
7. Save the form and test it.

Create two tables in MS Access: Students and Courses.

Courses Table

• CourseID — AutoNumber, Primary Key
• CourseName — Short Text

Students Table

• StudentID — AutoNumber, Primary Key
• StudentName — Short Text
• CourseID — Number, with a field size compatible with the Courses primary key
• PaymentMode — Short Text

Tasks

1. Add at least four courses to the Courses table.
2. Create a form based on the Students table.
3. Add a Combo Box for CourseID.
4. Use Courses as the Combo Box's list source.
5. Configure the Combo Box to display CourseName and store CourseID.
6. Add another Combo Box for PaymentMode using a Value List.
7. Enter Cash, UPI, and Bank Transfer as payment options.
8. Set Limit To List to Yes for the payment method if appropriate.
9. Save the form as frmStudentAdmission.
10. Enter sample records and verify the stored CourseID values.

1. What is a Combo Box in MS Access?
2. What are the advantages of using a Combo Box?
3. What is the purpose of Row Source Type?
4. What is the difference between a Value List and Table/Query source?
5. What does the Bound Column property do?
6. What is the purpose of Column Count?
7. How can you hide an ID column but display a name?
8. What does Limit To List control?
9. What is the difference between a Combo Box and a Text Box?
10. Why should the stored ID field have a compatible data type?