Cascading ComboBoxes

[Tarheel]

...You're fast! I appreciate that.

Thanks! I look forward to your explanation.

One last problem I have on my form is getting all of my comboboxes to update each other. I know how to update them as a cascade (i.e. Region updates Country which updates State which updates City) but I would like them to be interdependent (i.e. if I select a City, I want the Region, Country, and State comboboxes to populate with the corresponding data. Hoping to get this effect when I select any of these given boxes.

For ease of understanding, let's assume these are all of my comboboxes which correspond to a field of the same name, sans "com":
comRegion
comCountry
comState
comCity

Thanks again. You're a pro.

[ajalwaysus]

@topher23
Also, more proof of that, you should look at the algorithms page. Those guys are so over my head, but it is just more proof of the kinds of smarts this site has attracted =) Amazing!

-AJ

[OldBirdman]

...it is my mistake for not providing my actual scenario but please take my word for it when I say that my DB and fields cover a topic that is not widely known or understood.

I don't know why you assume we can't understand your actual problem. I'm not sure that you do either, or your 'example scenario' would have mirrored the real problem, which it apparently did not.

I don't see where anybody asked you "why?" True, nobody wrote any code, but that is because we needed to see where you were going with this, and have table names and relationships, etc.

In my database and on my form it is more of a common occurrence for the user to know the last value but not the preceding three (or any combination of each). This would be like the user not knowing the country or state, so they enter the city and the other boxes populate based on the city entry. This scenario is more likely in my actual case than this example.

I have a database with a heirarchy based on the taxonomy of Linnaeus, which contains the (Latin/scientific) names of all the birds and some of the other animals. Very few users know the higher levels. Your problem is not unique.

[Tarheel]

Please stop obsessing over the faults in my post. I didn't post my exact field names. It doesn't matter. I clearly explained that I had a hierarchal order but I wanted the comboboxes to populate each other no matter what order they were selected. I said I appreciate your comments and have moved on, but you still seem to want to critique my methods.

[topher23]

As Experts or helpers of any other sort, we expect that people asking for help will be 100% forthcoming. Those who are not cause a lot of frustration. We are simply expressing that you have caused frustration in not being completely up-front about your problem, instead couching it in "something you people would understand." Such an attitude borders on arrogance, and is really annoying to people who are just trying to help.

If you want help, we're happy to help. If you want to complain about the way people are treating you, please think about the way you're treating them with that sort of attitude.

[Tarheel]

I'm sorry if you took my tone as arrogance, but I didn't mean it that way. I am certainly not complaining about the way anybody treated me. I simply just believe that too much of everyone's time was used discussing topics that don't matter. That is why I'm trying to end this conversation, but I sincerely don't want any of you to think I was trying to be arrogant or rude. I honestly do believe that you all are doing a great service and am very appreciative. I'm sorry it is very hard to convey tone and attitude when writing short posts online. I just tried to save some time by using a simple scenario and explaining my situation in English rather than code. I never said it is "something you people would(n't) understand" and was polite as can be. If anybody took this as offensive, then I apologize, but try to take these things with a grain of salt.

[topher23]

Your contrition is appreciated. Now, before we let you pass, we desire... a shrubbery!

[NeoPa]

Tarheel,

May I just say that, although you possibly hit a tender spot there with how you replied on the one occasion, I congratulate you on the tone of your responses since then.

Our experts do sometimes have to deal with the downright obnoxious behaviour of some posters (yours was far from that), so it is certainly understandable to me that they may sometimes unload a little. I think you may have been the unlucky straw on the camel's back on this occasion, but I'm glad to say you handled it perfectly. Very few people realise how complicated it is trying to answer questions via such an inflexible medium such as a forum site. It's frequently frustrating to find questions that could be answered if only the question were phrased more clearly (and I appreciate you put time & effort into making it as clear as you could. I'm just explaining from the perspective of the other side).

Anyway, I'm also pleased that you asked your question just for the insight I was able to get from OB's post #4. It's not something I use a lot myself, but the points he made there seemed very important and a lesson for all (at least many) of us.

Now, have you sorted out that shrubbery yet :D