Autocomplete Property Page

The Previously Entered Values source uses values that were previously entered into the data entry control to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. 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 who is logged on to the computer.

To delete the list, click Clear Values on the Autocomplete property page.

The Embedded Data source uses manually entered values to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. To enter a new value in the list, click a blank row, and then enter the value that you want. To delete a value, click the row for the value that you want to delete, and then press Delete.

You can sort the list in either ascending or descending order by clicking the column header.

The Database source uses a connected database, such as a text file, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or other data file, to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. After you connect to a database by using the Database Setup dialog, BarTender populates the 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 must run the Database Setup wizard again to connect to a new database (or reconnect to the same one).

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

The External File source uses a file on your computer to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. Click Select File to browse to the file that you want to use.

The File Names in Folder source uses file names from a specified directory on your computer or network to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list.

After you specify a folder, you can filter the list to include only files of a certain type that are within the specified folder. For example, in a folder that contains many different types of files, you can enter *.xlsx for the File Pattern to populate the list with only the file names for the Excel files that are in the specified directory.

The Visual Basic Script source uses a custom VBScript to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. Use the Script Editor, which you can access by clicking Edit Script, to write and modify your script. Use a carriage return (vbCr) to separate multiple list items, as in the following example:

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

This sample code yields the following result.

Autocomplete suggestions
Banana
Muffin
Orange

When a query prompt is linked to the text input box, the Query Prompt Values source uses the records that match the query prompt to populate the Autocomplete Suggestions list. You can configure a query prompt in the Filter view of the Database Setup dialog.