Edit a Query Combo Box / Drop Down List Format

Documentation Configuration & Installation
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To Edit a Drop-Down List Format:

The Drop-down list format is the data and order of the data that appears in the drop down list for a query combo box, such as an agent field, Locality, or Collecting Event (in databases that share Collecting Events). This is the list that appears when you type in the first few characters of a preexisting record (such as an agent or locality record) in the appropriate field and click the down arrow (or press down on the keyboard).

By default, the Query Combobox Configuration is hidden. You will have to add through the local preferences to be able to use it. Once it is added, you will be able to edit the query combobox format.

To Add Query Combobox Configuration:

  1. In Specify, go to Help → About.

  1. Double click your database name in the upper right side of the window. In this example, the database name is “demodata”.

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  1. In the Local Prefs window, click Add Property.

  1. In the Property column, enter “QCBX_EDITOR”. (It must be added exactly as is here or it will not function.) In the Value column, enter “true”.

  1. Click another field in the window to save the entry. Click Close.

  2. Restart Specify.

To Edit Query Combobox Configuration:

  1. In Specify, go to System in the menu at the top and select Configure Query Comboboxes… from the drop down menu.

  1. The Query Combobox Editor will appear. In the list of query comboboxes available, select the one you would like to edit and click the yellow pencil under the box. In this example, we will edit Locality.

  1. In the Editor, add the Specify schema names of the fields you want to add to the drop down list in the order you want to see the fields. The schema names are the Specify schema names for fields NOT the names displayed on the forms. To find the Specify schema names, go to the Schema Configuration.

  1. The format field is where you define how the fields will be shown. There must be a value for each of the fields to be displayed. The separators you use between the fields here are the separators you will see in the drop down list. If you do not include a separator such as a comma, space, semicolon, or a combination of separators, then the fields will not have any separation between the end of one value and the beginning of the next.

Almost all fields will use %s for their field format. Latitude and Longitude fields require a different format. Use %9.5f for those fields.

  1. When done, click OK. Close out of the Query Combobox Editor. When you search for Localities, you should see your new format in the drop down list.

Note: To add Geography full name, add “geography” to the list. It will add the full geography name as you have set it to be. To edit how the geography full name is displayed, you will have to edit the Geography Tree Definitions.