Lookups and Blocking Bad Data - Adding New Values to Your Lookup List

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When you create a lookup that uses fixed values, the lookup list provides a list of suggestions. You can choose to ignore the lookup list and type in a completely different value (like a state prefix of ZI), even if it isn’t on the list. This design lets you use the lookup list as a timesaving convenience without limiting your flexibility.

In many cases, you don’t want this behavior. In the Bachelors table, you probably want to prevent people from entering something different in the State field. In this case, you want the lookup to be an error-checking and validation tool that actually stops entries that don’t belong.

Fortunately, even though this option’s mysteriously absent in the Lookup wizard, it’s easy enough to add after the fact. Here’s what you need to do:

1. In Design view, go to the field that has the lookup.
   
2. In the Field Properties section, click the Lookup tab.
   
   The Lookup tab provides options for fine-tuning your lookup, most of which you can configure more easily in the Lookup wizard. In the Row Source box, for example, you can edit the list of values you supplied. (Each value’s on the same line, in quotation marks, separated from the next value with a semicolon.) 
   
3. Set the Limit to List property to Yes.
   
   This action prevents you from entering values that aren’t in the list. 
   
4. Optionally, set Value List Edits to Yes.
   
   This action lets people modify the list of values at any time. This way, if something’s missing from the lookup list, you can add it on the fly (Figure 4-20).
   
   
   Figure 4-20.
   If you set Value List Edits to Yes, an icon appears
   under the lookup list when you use it (left). Click this icon to open an Edit List Items dialog box (right) where you can edit the items in the lookup list and change the default value.

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This article is excerpted from chapter four of the book Access 2007: The Missing Manual, written by Matthew MacDonald (O'Reilly, 2006; ISBN: 0596527608). Check it out today at your favorite bookstore. Buy this book now.