Using drop-down lists

If a field has a down arrow to the right of the box, it indicates that a drop-down list is available. The drop-down list allows you to select from a set of valid values.

These lists:

• ensure consistent data is used
• can save you a lot of time.

In the example below, the Home Language field has a drop-down list associated with it.

When you click on the arrow to the right of the field, the available choices are displayed.


To select the required entry, either click on the one you want or use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move up and down the list. When the one you want is highlighted, press Enter or click to select it.

You can also filter the drop-down list by typing into the field. For example, if you type D into the Classification field, Synergetic finds all entries containing the letter 'd'.

Once you type Do the drop-down list automatically updates to only include entries containing the letters Do consecutively.

Tip: You can use the Lookup Search Method field on the Preferences tab of User Preferences to determine the search method allowed when filtering drop-down lists. See Setting up Synergetic the way you want.

Where do the entries in the drop-down lists come from?
The majority of drop-down list have an associated lookup table which stores all the valid values for the field. Each organisation maintains their own lookup tables so that the values available for a particular field reflect the appropriate information for the organisation.

For example, Future Student Source of Enquiry field has a lookup table associated with it called luEnquirySource where you can specify the entries that are most used. If the enquiry source lookup table entry does not exist, then you need to create it.

It is up to the organisation to decide who can maintain these lookup table entries. Some organisations choose to have only the system administrator updating the tables, while other organisations delegate this responsibility to the experts in each area. For example, allowing the person managing debtors to maintain the lookup tables that are used in the debtors area and so on. Speak to your system administrator if you need to change selections in a drop-down list and are unsure how to do so.