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In MyList I have a lookup column that is populated with values from a list with columns ID,DESCRIPTION

When a user inserts a new item the dropdown box only shows ID values.

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I would like to see the DESCRIPTION instead as a user can't remember every ID.

How can I do this?

Gyonder
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    List Settings -> Your lookup field -> "In this column:" choose "Description" – Gintas K Nov 29 '16 at 12:41
  • @GintasK Why you didn't add your comment as answer :) , it looks correct answer – Mohamed El-Qassas MVP Nov 29 '16 at 12:55
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    @M.Qassas I didn't quite catch the question as this is too simple, it was just a guess as I thought OP requires both ID & Description in the drop-down :) – Gintas K Nov 29 '16 at 12:58
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    your help try is very appreciated :) – Mohamed El-Qassas MVP Nov 29 '16 at 13:01
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    He wanted to save the ID, the FK, so if the description changed, it would affect the FK relationship. How does one save the ID but present the description? – user88945 Feb 10 '20 at 18:45
  • @user88945, the lookup relation is always linked to ID field in the back-end. the description field used here is for display purpose. if the description changed, it will auto change in lookup, mapping to same parent item. – Lucky Feb 10 '20 at 19:20

2 Answers2

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  1. Go to list setting
  2. Create new column or alter your existing column.
  3. Choose type as Lookup
  4. Provide your list name from where you want to lookup in "Get information from:" drop down.
  5. Now choose your 'description' column in "In this column:" drop down and you are done.
Rishi Jagati
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I know this is an old thread, but that answer is incorrect - Gyonder wants the ID value to be brought across to his list, but he needs to display the description so that he can determine which one he needs.

I have a similar need - I want to get a unique value (ID) from another list, but I need to see the last name, first name and city when selecting the lookup item because the lookup list has multiple people with similar names. I don't want to add those values to my list, but I need to see them to decide which ID I need to select.

It drives me nuts that such a simple requirement has never been available in SharePoint lookups.

Mark
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