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Q138779: HOWTO: Make a Lookup Combo Box in a Grid

Article: Q138779
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): 
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbvfp300 kbvfp500 kbvfp600
Last Modified: 03-AUG-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, versions 3.0, 5.0, 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Macintosh, version 3.0b 
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SUMMARY
=======

There are times when a developer may want to limit the user's choices for data
entry by using a lookup table in a combo box. This allows the user to pick a
value from a list and have it inserted into the data table. This article shows
how to use a combo box in a grid to let the users pick a state to be stored in a
State field. The combo box will show the state's full name but will only store
the two-letter abbreviation in the table.

MORE INFORMATION
================

If you are not familiar with creating tables, using the grid, or using combo box
controls, please see chapters 7 and 11 in the Developer's Guide.

Step-by-Step Example
--------------------

1. Create two tables by using the following commands:

   - 

     CREATE TABLE Friends (Name C(40), Address C(30), State C(2))

   - 

     CREATE TABLE States (Fullname C(20), Abbrev C(2))

2. Enter the following data in the States table:

     Full Name    Abbreviation
     -------------------------

     Alaska       AK
     Colorado     CO
     Florida      FL
     Idaho        ID
     Maine        ME
     Ohio         OH
     Texas        TX

3. Enter five records into the Friends table using State abbreviations from the
  States table.

4. Create a new form, and add the Friends and States tables to the data
  environment.

5. Drag the Friends table from the data environment to the form to create a
  grid.

6. Set the following properties for the grid:

  

        ColumnCount = 3
        Height = 200
        Width = 448
        RowHeight = 30

7. Right-click the grid, and click Edit. Select the ComboBox control from the
  Form Controls toolbar and place a combo box in the third column of the grid.

8. Set the following Properties for each column in the grid:

  

        Column1: ControlSource = Friends.Name
                 Width = 152
        Column2: ControlSource = Friends.Address
                 Width = 166
        Column3: ControlSource = Friends.State
                 Bound = .F.
                 Width = 93
                 CurrentControl = Combo1

9. Set the following Properties for the combo box in column 3:

  

        BoundColumn = 2
        ColumnCount = 2
        ColumnWidths = 75,0
        ControlSource = Friends.State
        RowSourceType = 6-Fields
        RowSource = States.Fullname,Abbrev
        Style = 2 - Dropdown List

10. Enter the following code in the GotFocus event of the combo box:

  

        IF !EMPTY(Friends.State)
          This.Value = Friends.State
        ELSE
          This.DisplayValue = This.List(1)
        ENDIF
        ** This lets you see the current state value in the combo box
        ** or if it is a new record it displays the first state in the list.

11. In the Init event of the form, enter the following line of code:

  

         ON KEY LABEL F10 APPEND BLANK IN Friends
         ** Allows you to enter new records in the Grid.

12. In the Destroy event of the form, enter the following line of code:

  

         ON KEY LABEL F10
  </ITEM>
  <ITEM>Save and run the Form.

When you enter the State field of the grid, you will see the combo box come up
with the name of the current state. If you change the state and move off of the
state field, you will see the new two letter abbreviation for the state. If you
press F10 to add a record and then move to the state field, you will see the
name of the first state displayed in the combo box.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbvfp300 kbvfp500 kbvfp600 
Technology        : kbHWMAC kbOSMAC kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP300bMac kbVFP300 kbVFP500 kbVFP600
Issue type        : kbhowto

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