Ordering Lookup Entries

Often you will want to display a list of values selected from a table. It is often desirable to specifically order these entries, instead of allowing them to display in record order or alphabetically.

Here is a technique for solving this problem. This example uses a drop down list box on a dialog component, but the technique works equally well with a list box on a grid component.

  1. Select the control that will display the list and set the Control Settings > Control type value to "DropDownBox".

  2. Click the button in the DropDownBox Properties > Choices property to display the Define Choices dialog.

  3. Set the Define Choices > List Type value to "Dynamic".

  4. Set the Data Source > Data source type to "DBF-Table".

  5. Select the lookup table in the Data Source > Table name list.

  6. Enter an expression similar to the following in the Data Source > Display value field/expression property.

table.external_record_content_get("<table_name>", "<display_field>", "<sort_field>")

  1. Select the field you want to store in the Data Source > Stored value field/expression property. [Picture]

In this particular example, the table contains the following values.

Sequence Field

Display Field

"a"

100

"f"

1000

"g"

1250

"h"

1500

"b"

200

"i"

2000

"c"

250

"j"

2500

"d"

500

"e"

750

When the user clicks the list box, the following list appears. [Picture]

See Also

Contents, TABLE.EXTERNAL_RECORD_CONTENT_GET()

Supported By

Alpha Five Version 6 and Above