Autocomplete Property Page

The Previously Entered Values source populates the autocomplete suggestions with values previously entered into the data entry control. Each time a user enters a new value into the control, the new value is automatically added to the suggestions list, and stored in the Windows registry. The Autocomplete Suggestions list is unique for each user logged into the computer.

To delete the list at any point, simply click the Clear Values button on the Autocomplete property page.

The Embedded Data source lets you manually enter the values you want to use for autocomplete suggestions. To enter a new value in the list, click on a blank row in the Autocomplete Suggestions list and type the value you want. To delete a value, click on the row for the value you want to delete and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

The list can be sorted in either ascending or descending order. Simply click on the column header to sort the list.

The Database source pulls its autocomplete suggestions from a connected database, such as a text file, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or other data file. Once you connect to a database using the Database Setup dialog, BarTender populates the Autocomplete Suggestions list with the values in the specified database field.

The database connection for the autocomplete suggestions is completely independent of the database connection that populates data on your template. Even if you have already connected to a database in your document, you need to rerun the Database Setup Wizard to connect to a new database (or the same one).

If your database contains more than one field, the Display Text Field dropdown list specifies the database field that contains the autocomplete suggestions.

The External File source pulls its autocomplete suggestions from a file somewhere on your computer. Click Select File to browse to the file that you want to select.

The File Names in Folder source populates the Autocomplete Suggestions list with file names from a specified directory on your computer or network. Once you have specified a folder, you can filter the list to include only files of a certain type that are within the specified folder. For instance, in a folder with many different types of files, typing *.xlsx for the File Pattern would allow you to populate the list with only the file names for the Excel files in the specified directory.

Visual Basic Script source lets you write a custom VBScript to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. A carriage return (vbCr) should be used to separate multiple list items. The Script Editor, accessible from the Edit Script button, is used to write and modify your script.

For example:

Value = "Orange" + vbCr + "Banana" + vbCr + "Muffin"

This sample code yields the following result:

Autocomplete Suggestions
Banana
Muffin
Orange

When you have a query prompt linked to the text input box, the Query Prompt Values source populates the Autocomplete Suggestions list based on the records matching the query prompt. A query prompt is set up in the Filter view of the Database Setup dialog.