Access: Limit values in a combo box in Access 2003/XP/2000/97

Question:  In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, I've created a combo box. I'd like to populate the combo box based on a query and then limit the user to only enter a value that is in the list. I don't want the user to be able to enter any values that I do not populate in the combo box. Is there a way to do this?

Answer:  Quite often we will only want users to select a value from a predefined list of value in a combo box. To do this, open your form in design view. Right-click on the combo box and select Properties from the popup menu.

In the combo box, there is a Property called "Limit To List". You will need to set this property to "Yes" on the combo box object.

Now when you try to enter a value in the combo box that is not in the list of values, you will get the following message: