404
Manage Drop-down Lists
Using drop-down lists can speed the process of
entering data, especially in those fields where a
limited number of choices are possible. When a
list has been attached to a field, the end user
sees a downward pointing arrow at the right of
the field. ACT! provides preset lists for several
fields.
Drop-down lists can be developed for
Character, Currency, Number, and
Decimal fields.
Drop-down lists cannot be created for
Date, Memo, Phone, Picture, or
Yes/No fields.
You can share any custom drop-down list among multiple fields.
Changes made to the drop-down list in one field are reflected in all
shared drop-down lists.
...create a drop-down list
1.
Tools, Define Fields....
2.
Click Manage drop-down lists.
3.
Click Create drop-down list.
4.
Enter a name for the list.
5.
Select the type of field this dropdown will be associated with.
6.
Enter an optional Description
(e.g., list the field names you will
link to this drop-down list).
7.
To allow end users to make
changes to the drop-down list,
put a check in Allow users to
edit items in this list.
Under the List Tasks area at the
left.
If you don’t check Allow users…,
then additions or deletions must be
made through the Define Fields
menu command (by a Manager or
Administrator) and would require
all users to be locked out of the
database while changes are made.
Database Design & Layouts
8.
To update the list with whatever
users type in the field, put a
check in Automatically add
new items to drop-down.
405
Automatically add… can be
handy for adding new cities to the
drop-down, but it can also add
misspelled cities to the list.
Click Next>.
9.
To create your own list…
To add an item, click Add. Type
the Value and click in or [Tab] to
the Description area to enter
one, if desired.
To delete an item, select it and
click Delete.
10.
Click Finish to apply the
changes. Click Home to return
to Define Fields dialog box.
Descriptions are useful for helping
the end user understand the code
(e.g., is MS Mississippi or
Missouri?).
You must enable Show
Descriptions in the Field
Definition to display descriptions.
Click Close to finish defining fields.
When you link a drop-down list to a field, you can further define the list
behavior in the Define Fields dialog box. Options for Limit to List, Allow
Multi-select, Show Descriptions, and Type-ahead are defined when
you create a field.
Practice: Define and Attach Some Drop-downs
Step
What to do
How to do it/Comments
1.
Create a drop-down list for the
Sales Rep field with the following
names:
In the Define Fields wizard
(Tools, Define Fields…), click
Manage drop-down lists. Click
Create drop-down list. Name
the list “Sales Rep” and create as
a Character type. Check Allow
users… options. Remove the
check from Automatically add….
Click Next>. Click Add and enter
the sales rep name and
description for the three sales
reps at the left. Click Finish.
Fred Fenderline
Allison Mikola
Betty Browser
Europe
USA
AsiaPac
Allow users to edit items in the list
without locking other users out of
the database. Don’t automatically
add names.
406
Step
2.
What to do
How to do it/Comments
Link this list to the Sales Rep
field.
After linking the field, apply the
options to limit to list, allow the
selection of multiple sales reps
(team selling). Show descriptions
in case someone isn’t sure who
handles which region. Leave
Enable Type-ahead checked.
3.
Return to Detail View and enter a
Sales Rep (User 1) for several
Contacts. Try entering multiple
values.
Click Home to return to the
Create, edit or delete fields
screen. Double-click the Sales
Rep field to edit the field. Put a
check in the Use drop-down list
option and select the “Sales Rep”
list that you just created. Click
Next>. Add and remove checks
per the instructions at the left.
Click Finish.
Click Close and then No to
modify layouts. Click Contacts, if
necessary, to display the Detail
View. Display the User Fields
tab.
Creating Drop-down Lists for Importing
When you need to create a new list, and the list is long, you will find the process
faster if you create a text file containing the list information and import it into your
drop-down list.
To be able to import the list, you must enclose each item in your text file in
quotes, with a comma separating the value and the description, and a hard
return (meaning you press [Enter]) between lines.
You can create a text file in almost any word processor, but the easiest place to
do it is in the Windows Notepad. (Every Windows computer has this simple text
editor usually found in Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad.)
...create a text file for importing to a drop-down list
1.
Open Windows Notepad.
Start, All Programs, Accessories,
Notepad.
2.
In a text document, type the
first entry surrounded by
quotes, type a comma (,),
then type the description
inside quotes. Press [Enter].
“Travis Clark”,“South”
“Elizabeth Kohler”,“West”
“Rob Johnson”,“Central”
Each line becomes another entry. (If
you do not wish to type a description,
you may omit the comma as well.)