It’s actually not that hard to do:
- Create a new single-line text field.
- Either enter all 50[1] state abbreviations, one per record, or find a columnar list of all 50, and copy-and-paste them into the field.
- Once you have 50 records, each with a different state abbreviation, right-click on the field name, select ‘customize field type,’ and change the field type from single-line text to single select.
That said, here’s a faster, easier way:
- Load this base
- In a different tab, open the base where you want a single-select
{State} field.
- Add a new single-line text field to your base, calling it something like
{State Select}.
- Return to the tab containing the base loaded in Step 1.
- Select the cell for
{State Abbreviations} in Row 1.
- Press
Ctrl-C to copy that cell.
- Return to the tab with your base and select the cell for
{State Select} in Row 1.
- Press
Ctrl-V to paste the value into that cell.
{State Select} for record 1 is set to 'AK'; the field type changes to single-select, with the 53[1] state options already configured.
You can now copy-and-paste your existing {State} column — assuming it has been normalized to use correct abbreviations only — into the {State Select} field to convert the data already entered to single-select format. (Note if {State} contains any invalid abbreviations or spelled-out state names, they will be added as additional options to your single-select — probably not what you want.)
- I ordinarily use 53 options, for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia (DC), Puerto Rico (PR), and US Virgin Islands (VI).
