State table lookup - How can I display full state name only on data entry?

[mthornblad]

Hi

I have a form for entering Customer data. When entering a new record,
I have a lookup combo box to validate the state that the user enters.
The combo box displays the state code and the state name. (ie. Ca and
California). The state code is the bound value and the state name is
the display value.

The only time I want to display the full state name is when the user
is entering data into the form. I want the state code to be displayed
on queries, forms, and reports.

Is there a way to do this ?

Thanks in advance
Mark

 

[Allen Browne]

Create a table with 2 fields like this:
StateID Text (say, 3 or 4 characters)
State Text (enough characters for all state names)
Mark the StateID field as primary key.

In the properties (lower pane in table design) for State, set
Required Yes
Indexed Yes, No Duplicates.

Save the table with a name such as tblState. Enter the abbreviated state
names in the first column, and the full state names in the 2nd.

Now on your form, use a combo box for the state. Give it properties like
this:
Row Source tblState
Column Count 2
Column Widths 0