Create an option group

You can create an option group on your own or, if you are working in a form or report, you can use a wizard to create an option group. A wizard speeds up the process of creating an option group because it does all the basic work for you. When you use a wizard, Microsoft Access prompts you for information, and then creates an option group based on your answers.

In a data access page, you use option buttons to represent the different values that you can save in the underlying field of the option group. In a form or report, you can use check boxes, option buttons, or toggle buttons to represent the different values that you can save in the underlying field.

Create an option group by using a wizard

  1. Open a form or report in Design view.
  2. Click the Control Wizards tool in the toolbox if it's not already selected.
  3. In the toolbox, click the Option Group tool .
  4. On the form or report, click where you want to place the upper-left corner of the option group.
  5. Follow the directions in the wizard dialog boxes. In the last dialog box, click Finish to display the option group in Design view.

Create an option group on my own

  1. Open a form, report, or data access page in Design view.
  2. Click the Control Wizards tool in the toolbox if it's selected. This turns off the wizard.
  3. In the toolbox, click the Option Group tool .
  4. Do one of the following:

    To create an unbound option group, click where you want to place the group frame.

    To create a bound option group, click Field List on the toolbar to display the field list, and then drag the appropriate field or column from the field list to the form, report, or data access page.

    Note   The control won't be bound if you try to create it by clicking the form, report, or data access page instead of dragging the selected field from the field list.

  5. In the form or report toolbox, click the Check Box Check Box control, Option Button , or the Toggle Button tool . In the data access page toolbox, click the Option Button tool.
  6. Click inside the group frame where you want the upper-left corner of the check box, option button, or toggle button to appear.

  7. Do one of the following:

    On a form or report, if necessary, click the control, click Properties on the toolbar, and then change the OptionValue property to the value that you want the option group to have when you click that control. When you add the first control to an option group on a form or report, Microsoft Access sets its OptionValue property to 1.

    On a data access page, click the option button, click Properties on the toolbar, and then change the Value property from on to the value that you want the option group to have when you click that button.

    If the option group is bound, the value of the control's OptionValue or Value property is the value that Microsoft Access stores in the underlying table when you click that control.

    Selected option in an option group

    1  OptionValue or Value property set to 1 - clicking this button sets the value of the Ship Via option group to 1 and, if the option group is bound, stores that value in the underlying table.

    2  OptionValue or Value property set to 2 - clicking this button sets the value of the Ship Via option group to 2 and, if the option group is bound, stores that value in the underlying table.

    3  OptionValue or Value property set to 3 - clicking this button sets the value of the Ship Via option group to 3 and, if the option group is bound, stores that value in the underlying table.

  8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 for each control you add to the option group. On a form or report, Access sets the OptionValue property of the second control to 2, the third to 3, and so on.

Tip

To facilitate data entry, you can make the most commonly chosen option the default by setting the DefaultValue property of the option group.