Outlook Forms (2003)

[GillHarding]

I am creating a form in Outlook which contains a combo box. I know that I can type the values I want in the combo box by specifying the "Possible Values" - but is there a way I can link this to an external source - eg a list or named range in an Excel workbook? My problem is that the list is quite lengthy and changes regularly, so it would be better if I could just maintain one data source rather than having to edit the list in the Outlook form each time. Any help would be most gratefully received. Thanks.

[HansV]

You can use the Item_Open event to populate the list dynamically - see How to populate a list box or a combo box control on an custom form in Outlook 2002 (applies to Outlook 2003 too).

In order to read data from an Excel list, you can use Automation to start an instance of Excel, open the workbook, read the list, close the workbook and quit Excel.
If your list is in a database-style table, you can use ADO to open a connection to the Excel workbook, open a recordset on the list and loop through its records, then close the recordset and the connection.
If your form is to be used by several persons, you may run into problems if the workbook is in use. It might be better to use a text file or an Access database.

[GillHarding]

Thanks for your help. Much appreciated. I will give this a try.