9/05/2012

Bind combo box to primary key but display a description field in Access

no image Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, I've set up a table that contains an autonumber field as the primary key and a description field. I want to be able to create a combo box that displays the description, but stores the primary key. How do I set up the combo box?
Answer: Quite often the primary key value can mean nothing to the user. Instead, there is a description field in the table that relays the meaning of the record. In Access you can link a combo box to the primary key, but display the description in the combo box itself.
To do this, first create a combo box object. Right-click on the combo box and select Properties from the popup menu.