HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked. Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks

Don't use a form, just use a worksheet.

Create a data Validation dropdown and link to your list of containers
http://www.contextures.com/xlDataVal01.html

Add instructions in the column next to the containers, and have another cell
that looks it up. Say the DV is in Cell C4, then the instructions can be got
with

=INDEX(M:M,MATCH(C4,L:L,0))

--
HTH

Bob Phillips

"Russell-stanely" wrote in
message ...
HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has
their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the
bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We
have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing
instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked.
Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks

If you're not wedded to the combo box there may be a simpler way of achieving
what you want using data validation and VLOOKUP. In the following example I
will use sample cell references. Change them to fit your form.

To the right of your form, say in columns J and K, type in your container
names and instructions. However, you will be limited to about 1,000
characters per instruction because it will have to fit in one cell:

COLUMN J COLUMN K
Containers Instructions
Container 1 Instructions 1
Container 2 Instructions 2
Container 3 Instructions 3
Container 4 Instructions 4
Container 5 Instructions 5
Container 6 Instructions 6
Container 7 Instructions 7
Container 8 Instructions 8
Container 9 Instructions 9
Container 10 Instructions 10
Container 11 Instructions 11
Container 12 Instructions 12

Select Cell E1 and go to Data Validation Settings Tab, under Allow:
select list. Then select the range of you container names - in this example,
Containers thru container 12 (J1-J13). You can also have an input message
such as "Select the Name of your Container".

Next, in the cell where you want your instructions to appear, type:
=VLOOKUP(E1,J$1$:K$13$,2,FALSE). This will lookup the instructions for each
specific container.

You can hide the container columns, J and K, so that they do not appear on
your form. You can also protect the worksheet except for the cells where
your customers will enter information. They will not be able to unhide your
container list.

HTH

--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked. Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks

One more point on my first post. You will need to do an ascending sort on
Column J to have your containers in alphabetical order.
--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked. Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks

WOW! You have been a BIG help!! Now one more question: Can I set up the
cell that will carry the data validation, to have more than one list of
information?
to follow your EX:

In Column J I will put the containers
In Column K I will put the instructions
In Column L , I want to put a second set of instructions.

Can the DV in Cell E pull instructions from both column K and Column L?

If yes, how so?

Thanks again! I am one step closer to finishing this project!

"Michael" wrote:

If you're not wedded to the combo box there may be a simpler way of achieving
what you want using data validation and VLOOKUP. In the following example I
will use sample cell references. Change them to fit your form.

To the right of your form, say in columns J and K, type in your container
names and instructions. However, you will be limited to about 1,000
characters per instruction because it will have to fit in one cell:

COLUMN J COLUMN K
Containers Instructions
Container 1 Instructions 1
Container 2 Instructions 2
Container 3 Instructions 3
Container 4 Instructions 4
Container 5 Instructions 5
Container 6 Instructions 6
Container 7 Instructions 7
Container 8 Instructions 8
Container 9 Instructions 9
Container 10 Instructions 10
Container 11 Instructions 11
Container 12 Instructions 12

Select Cell E1 and go to Data Validation Settings Tab, under Allow:
select list. Then select the range of you container names - in this example,
Containers thru container 12 (J1-J13). You can also have an input message
such as "Select the Name of your Container".

Next, in the cell where you want your instructions to appear, type:
=VLOOKUP(E1,J$1$:K$13$,2,FALSE). This will lookup the instructions for each
specific container.

You can hide the container columns, J and K, so that they do not appear on
your form. You can also protect the worksheet except for the cells where
your customers will enter information. They will not be able to unhide your
container list.

HTH

--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked. Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks

Thanks for the kind words, Russell. You could put another VLOOKUP statement
where the instructions are to show, possibly in the cell below the first.
Change the statement to =VLOOKUP(E1,J$1$:L$13$,2,FALSE). For more
information on how to use Data Validation, go to this site
http://www.contextures.com/xlDataVal02.html. Post again if you have more
questions.
--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

WOW! You have been a BIG help!! Now one more question: Can I set up the
cell that will carry the data validation, to have more than one list of
information?
to follow your EX:

In Column J I will put the containers
In Column K I will put the instructions
In Column L , I want to put a second set of instructions.

Can the DV in Cell E pull instructions from both column K and Column L?

If yes, how so?

Thanks again! I am one step closer to finishing this project!

"Michael" wrote:

If you're not wedded to the combo box there may be a simpler way of achieving
what you want using data validation and VLOOKUP. In the following example I
will use sample cell references. Change them to fit your form.

To the right of your form, say in columns J and K, type in your container
names and instructions. However, you will be limited to about 1,000
characters per instruction because it will have to fit in one cell:

COLUMN J COLUMN K
Containers Instructions
Container 1 Instructions 1
Container 2 Instructions 2
Container 3 Instructions 3
Container 4 Instructions 4
Container 5 Instructions 5
Container 6 Instructions 6
Container 7 Instructions 7
Container 8 Instructions 8
Container 9 Instructions 9
Container 10 Instructions 10
Container 11 Instructions 11
Container 12 Instructions 12

Select Cell E1 and go to Data Validation Settings Tab, under Allow:
select list. Then select the range of you container names - in this example,
Containers thru container 12 (J1-J13). You can also have an input message
such as "Select the Name of your Container".

Next, in the cell where you want your instructions to appear, type:
=VLOOKUP(E1,J$1$:K$13$,2,FALSE). This will lookup the instructions for each
specific container.

You can hide the container columns, J and K, so that they do not appear on
your form. You can also protect the worksheet except for the cells where
your customers will enter information. They will not be able to unhide your
container list.

HTH

--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked. Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks

Oops. Sorry Russell. In the second VLOOKUP statement, change the 2 to a 3.
That refers to the 3rd column in your containers table where your second set
of instructions will reside. Good luck on your project.
--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

WOW! You have been a BIG help!! Now one more question: Can I set up the
cell that will carry the data validation, to have more than one list of
information?
to follow your EX:

In Column J I will put the containers
In Column K I will put the instructions
In Column L , I want to put a second set of instructions.

Can the DV in Cell E pull instructions from both column K and Column L?

If yes, how so?

Thanks again! I am one step closer to finishing this project!

"Michael" wrote:

If you're not wedded to the combo box there may be a simpler way of achieving
what you want using data validation and VLOOKUP. In the following example I
will use sample cell references. Change them to fit your form.

To the right of your form, say in columns J and K, type in your container
names and instructions. However, you will be limited to about 1,000
characters per instruction because it will have to fit in one cell:

COLUMN J COLUMN K
Containers Instructions
Container 1 Instructions 1
Container 2 Instructions 2
Container 3 Instructions 3
Container 4 Instructions 4
Container 5 Instructions 5
Container 6 Instructions 6
Container 7 Instructions 7
Container 8 Instructions 8
Container 9 Instructions 9
Container 10 Instructions 10
Container 11 Instructions 11
Container 12 Instructions 12

Select Cell E1 and go to Data Validation Settings Tab, under Allow:
select list. Then select the range of you container names - in this example,
Containers thru container 12 (J1-J13). You can also have an input message
such as "Select the Name of your Container".

Next, in the cell where you want your instructions to appear, type:
=VLOOKUP(E1,J$1$:K$13$,2,FALSE). This will lookup the instructions for each
specific container.

You can hide the container columns, J and K, so that they do not appear on
your form. You can also protect the worksheet except for the cells where
your customers will enter information. They will not be able to unhide your
container list.

HTH

--
Sincerely, Michael Colvin


"Russell-stanely" wrote:

HI. Seems like I have spent the last 4 days in this group!
I am designing a form. I want to put a combo box on the form. The combo
box will have about 60 items in the range. Each item in the range has their
own specific set of instructions.

I want to be able to pick one item from the combo box and then at the bottom
of the form, I want the specific instructions for this item to print.

We are a manufacturing company and we have to supply instructions to our
customers on how to "close a container" that they purchase from us. We have
60 different types of containers, each with their own unique "closing
instructions". I want to make a very simple form, where once you pick the
container from the combo box list, the closing instructions for that
container are printed at the bottom of the form. These closing instructions
will print in one area of the form, for any container that is picked. Please
- no macros or VB,--I HOPE a simple form will work.
If not, whoever responds, can you word the instructions so that someone
"NEW" can bsically cut an paste the formula to the form?
Any help would be appreciated--and save my sanity!
Thanks