The first course in this series mentioned that you can sometimes use a lookup field instead of a table. For example, say you need to record the locations of your company's assets. If you have a large number of locations, such as offices on several floors, you'd store that data in a table because it's easier to manage that way. But if you only have a few locations, then it makes sense to store those options in a lookup field.
A lookup field can store a list of options internally, or it can look up data from a field in another table. These steps explain how to create a lookup field that stores options internally, in what Access calls a value list.
With your table open in Datasheet view, click the
Fields tab, and in the
Add & Delete group, click
More Fields.
In the menu, click
Lookup & Relationship. That starts the
Lookup Wizard.
On the first page of the wizard, click
I will type in the values that I want and click
Next.
On the next page of the wizard, make sure the
Number of columns box contains a
1 and then enter your options in the grid, one option per row.
On the third page of the wizard, enter a name for the new field and click
Finish.
It's that easy to create a lookup field that uses a value list, but what if you need to change the items in the list? The Quick Reference Card shows you how.
