Maximum records for combobox recordsource?

Question

Is there a maximum number of records that can be returned by a combobox?  My recordsource has just over 67000 records.  The first 65500 (approx) will display/can be scrolled to but not the rest.  Any thoughts short of re-defining recordsource as the user begins to narrow the selection?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Michelle K.

Answer 1

Yes, there is a limit of 64k records in a listbox or combobox (65535 plus one row for the column headers).

Combos with Tens of Thousands of Records

Combos become unworkable with many thousands of records. By loading records into the combo only after the user has typed the first three or four characters, you can use combos far beyond their normal limits, even with the AutoExpand property on.

This is the idea:

   1.Leave the combo’s RowSource property blank.

   2.Create a function that assigns the RowSource after a minimum number of characters has been typed. Only entries matching these initial characters are loaded, so the combo’s

     RowSource never contains more than a few hundred records.

   3.Call this function in the combo’s Change event, and the form’s Current event.

This tip has been posted by Allen Browne for years:

http://allenbrowne.com/ser-32.html

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John Spencer Access MVP 2002-2005, 2007-2010 The Hilltop Institute University of Maryland Baltimore County

Answer 2

Thank you, John.  That was exactly what I needed.  I will make a note to check Allen's website before posting a question in the future.