ACC2000: Hyperlink Runs If Selected with Keyboard from Combo Box

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

When you use the ENTER key to select a hyperlink in a combo box, Microsoft Access follows the hyperlink instead of putting your selection in the combo box.

When you press ENTER, you are not selecting an item from the combo box list. Instead, the ENTER key is acting on what is already in the text box portion of the combo box. If the text box contains a hyperlink, Microsoft Access follows the link. There is no way to distinguish between pressing ENTER while the list is dropped down and pressing ENTER when it is not dropped down.

If you want to use the keyboard to select a hyperlink in a combo box, press TAB or ALT+DOWN ARROW after you select an item in the list. This action places the selected hyperlink in the text box portion of the combo box without following any link.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

NOTE: When Microsoft Access follows the hyperlink after you press ENTER, it does not follow the hyperlink that you just selected in the combo box; rather, it follows the hyperlink that was already present in the combo box, as illustrated by the following example:

1. Start Microsoft Access and open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
2. In the Database window, click Forms under Objects, and then click New.
3. In the New Form dialog box, select Design View, and then click OK.
4. Add the following controls to the detail section of the form:

      Combo box:
         Name: cbHyperlink
         RowSource: SELECT Suppliers.HomePage FROM Suppliers;
      Text box:
         Name: Text2
   					

5. Save the form as frmKeyboardCombo, and then switch to Form view.
6. Press ALT+DOWN ARROW in the combo box to display the list of home pages in the Suppliers table.
7. Use the DOWN ARROW key to select CAJUN.HTM in the list, and then press ENTER. Note that nothing happens. Press TAB to select CAJUN.HTM and move to the text box on your form.
8. Press TAB to move back to the combo box, and once again press ALT+DOWN ARROW to display the list.
9. Use the DOWN ARROW key to select Mayumi's (on the Web), and then press ENTER. Note that your Web browser starts and displays the Cajun Delights Web page. This is the selection that was already in the combo box, and not the item that you just selected in the list.

For more information about the Hyperlink data type, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type Data Type Property in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

For more information about combo boxes, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type Create a bound combo box in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.