Limiting Selections In Combo Box while keeping previous entries

[jalge]

I have a subform based on a query where I have placed a combo box that forces users to select a client name from a list. The list is made of open cases and closed cases.

The trouble is that the list is getting extremely long, and I wish to limit the combo box choices to just the open cases.

The problem is that when I limit the list to just open cases, the previous entries of closed cases now do not show up on the form.

How can I keep the previous closed case entries showing up on the form, but limit the combo box list to just open cases?

 

[dcx693]

Your description is a bit confusing....

You want to limit the combo box to only showing Open cases, but you don't want to limit the form to only Open cases. Unless your combo box is limiting what can be viewed on the form, one has nothing to do with the other.

Please explain what records feed into this subform and what happens when you select an open case from the combo box.

 

[jalge]

I'm guessing the way I have it set up, the combo box is limiting what is displayed on the form.

In question are two tables, one is a main table for each employee. The other is a detail table showing the activity log for each employee. It is a one-to-many relationship, referential integrity applied.

The detail table is linked to the main table using the employee's ID number. The form-subform is set up similarly, and are based on queries so to display records in a certain order, and to filter the detail records by the employee.

The subform, therefore, shows the detailed records for each attorney. One field of the detail table is the Client Name. This is set up as a combo box whereby the user must select a client from a pre-determined list (thereby preventing garbage entries.)

The combo box for selecting the client is based on a query of a Client Name table. One field in the Client Name table is whether the Client's case is open or closed. When I change the criteria of the query so the combo box only shows open cases, the names of closed cases no longer appear on the subform. If I change the query back to show all cases, and requery, the names reappear on the subform.

What I want is for the previous entries to still appear, whether or no the case is opened or closed, but the combo box to show only open cases, so the selection list is shorter.

Once entered, the data in the tables does not change, regardless of the combo box query (as you mentioned, they are unrelated.)

 

[dcx693]

Ah, so you want all of a particular client's cases to appear in the search results even if your combo box only shows clients with open cases? That would make sense and is possible.

The key here is to control what gets displayed when you choose a client from the combo box. What happens when you do that? Does the subform get filtered? How is that filtering occuring? What is the actual code being executed?