Searching combo boxes -- several questions

[jazztie]

I have a form which shows contact information. I have added a combo box which automatically shows the information of the selection in the combo box. So, far no problem.

However, what I would like is that (since there will be a lot of contact in it) you can search inside the combobox. Say, for instance, you have the following info:
1. Albert Einstein
2. Ally McBeal
3. Anastacia
4. Bob Dole

When you enter the 'A', only the first three items stay in the combo box. After entering 'AL', only the first two items stay in the combo box.

How should I go about creating such a combo box? I already saw that when entering characters, it selects the first item that corresponds with the characters entered.

Also, when placing a combo box on the form, linked to the form (a standard function in Access) ... how do I select the first record of the form in the combo box?. Say that Albert Einstein is the first item which is shown in the form, it should also be selected in the combo box. Now, the combo box stays empty.

Any help is appreciated!
Jazz

 

[godofhell]

Jazztie, the attached database contains a combo box that will do what you are looking for, unfortunately it is not as clean as it should be since it runs on the after update event and it requires the user to remove the extra letters to create a proper listing. If you type in J and tab through it, the list will only show names that start with J, if you clear it and type Ju the names update to those that start with JU. Notice that it requires tabbing through to get it to work. Play with some of the other event on that control and see which one works best for you. The combo box to test is the last one in the search form.