ComboBox.ColumnCount property (Access)

Use the ColumnCount property to specify the number of columns displayed in a list box or in the list box portion of a combo box, or sent to OLE objects in a chart control or unbound object frame. Read/write Integer.

Syntax

expression.ColumnCount

expression A variable that represents a ComboBox object.

Remarks

The ColumnCount property holds an integer between 1 and the maximum number of fields in the table, query, or SQL statement, or the maximum number of values in the value list, specified in the RowSource property of the control.

For table fields, you can set this property on the Lookup tab in the Field Properties section of table Design view for fields with the DisplayControl property set to Combo Box or List Box.

For example, if you set the ColumnCount property for a list box on an Employees form to 3, one column can list last names, another can list first names, and the third can list employee ID numbers.

A combo box or list box can have multiple columns. If the control's RowSource property contains the name of a table, query, or SQL statement, a combo box or list box will display the fields from that source, from left to right, up to the number specified by the ColumnCount property.

To display a different combination of fields, create either a new query or a new SQL statement for the RowSource property, specifying the fields and the order you want.

If the RowSource property contains a list of values (the RowSourceType property is set to Value List), the values are put into the rows and columns of the combo box or list box in the order they are listed in the RowSource property. For example, if the RowSource property contains the list "Red; Green; Blue; Yellow" and the ColumnCount property is set to 2, the first row of the combo box or list box list will contain "Red" in the first column and "Green" in the second column. The second row will contain "Blue" in the first column and "Yellow" in the second column.

Use the ColumnWidths property to set the width of the columns displayed in the control or to hide columns.

Example

The following example uses the Column property and the ColumnCount property to print the values of a list box selection.

Public Sub Read_ListBox() 
 
    Dim intNumColumns As Integer 
    Dim intI As Integer 
    Dim frmCust As Form 
 
    Set frmCust = Forms!frmCustomers 
    If frmCust!lstCustomerNames.ItemsSelected.Count > 0 Then 
 
        ' Any selection? 
        intNumColumns = frmCust!lstCustomerNames.ColumnCount 
        Debug.Print "The list box contains "; intNumColumns; _ 
            IIf(intNumColumns = 1, " column", " columns"); _ 
             " of data." 
 
        Debug.Print "The current selection contains:" 
        For intI = 0 To intNumColumns - 1 
            ' Print column data. 
            Debug.Print frmCust!lstCustomerNames.Column(intI) 
        Next intI 
    Else 
        Debug.Print "You haven't selected an entry in the " _ 
            & "list box." 
    End If 
 
    Set frmCust = Nothing 
 
End Sub

The following example shows how to create a combo box that is bound to one column while displaying another. Setting the ColumnCount property to 2 specifies that the cboDept combo box will display the first two columns of the data source specified by the RowSource property. Setting the BoundColumn property to 1 specifies that the value stored in the first column will be returned when you inspect the value of the combo box.

The ColumnWidths property specifies the width of the two columns. By setting the width of the first column to 0in., the first column is not displayed in the combo box.

Private Sub cboDept_Enter()
    With cboDept
        .RowSource = "SELECT * FROM tblDepartments ORDER BY Department"
        .ColumnCount = 2
        .BoundColumn = 1
        .ColumnWidths = "0in.;1in."
    End With
End Sub

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