February 19, 2009

Refresh your Access combo boxes with the Requery shortcut

  • Date: December 2nd, 2008
  • Author: Mary Ann Richardson

You can update your combo boxes on the fly with the help of an Access shortcut. generic cialis overnight Mary Ann Richardson explains how it works.


Combo boxes let you type an entry into a field and select the entry again whenever you need it for another record. However, Access runs the query to the combo box only when the form is opened. If you add a new entry to the field, it will not appear in the list until you reopen the form. Fortunately, there’s a quick way to update your combo box without having to open and close the form.

For example, say you are entering data for a number of employees whose zip code is 07056. You enter the code for one employee. Then, when you enter the next one, you find that zip code is not on the list (Figure A).

Figure A

zip code

Follow these steps:

  1. After entering the new zip code for the first time, move to the next record.
  1. Press Shift + F9.

This is the Requery shortcut, which takes you back to the first record. When you click on the combo box to update any record, 07056 is now displayed, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

combo box update

You can use the Requery key to update any control based on SQL data.

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