Skip to content
xlsoffice. All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Excel For Beginners
  • Excel Intermediate
  • Advanced Excel For Experts

Lookup and Reference Examples

  • To count total rows in a range in Excel
  • MATCH function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • Count rows with at least n matching values
  • How to calculate two-way lookup VLOOKUP in Excel Table
  • How to use Excel LOOKUP Function

Data Analysis Examples

  • Reverse List in Excel
  • How to combine 2 or more chart types in a single chart in Excel
  • Excel Frequency Function Example
  • Conditional Formatting Data bars Examples in Excel
  • Get column name from index in Excel Table

Data Validation Examples

  • Excel Data validation unique values only
  • Excel Data validation specific characters only
  • Excel Data validation number multiple 100
  • Excel Data validation date in next 30 days
  • Excel Data validation must not contain

How To Create Drop-down List in Excel

by

To work more efficiently and reduce typo errors in worksheets use drop-down lists in cells.

The drop-down lists in Excel are helpful if you want to be sure that users select an item from a list, instead of typing their own values.

Create a Drop-down List

To create a drop-down list in Excel, execute the following steps.

1. On the second sheet, type the items you want to appear in the drop-down list.

2. On the first sheet, select cell B1.

3. On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click Data Validation.

The ‘Data Validation’ dialog box appears.

4. In the Allow box, click List.

5. Click in the Source box and select the range A1:A3 on Sheet2.

6. Click OK.

Result:

Note: if you don’t want users to access the items on Sheet2, you can hide Sheet2. To achieve this, right click on the sheet tab of Sheet2 and click on Hide.

Tips and Tricks

Below you can find a few tips and tricks when creating drop-down lists in Excel.

1. You can also type the items directly into the Source box, instead of using a range reference.

Note: this makes your drop-down list case sensitive. For example, if a user types pizza, an error alert will be displayed.

2a. If you type a value that is not in the list, Excel shows an error alert.

2b. To allow other entries, on the Error Alert tab, uncheck ‘Show error alert after invalid data is entered’.

3. To automatically update the drop-down-list, when you add an item to the list on Sheet2, use the following formula: =OFFSET(Sheet2!$A$1,0,0,COUNTA(Sheet2!$A:$A),1)

Explanation: the OFFSET function takes 5 arguments. Reference: Sheet2!$A$1, rows to offset: 0, columns to offset: 0, height: COUNTA(Sheet2!$A:$A), width: 1. COUNTA(Sheet2!$A:$A) counts the number of values in column A on Sheet2 that are not empty. When you add an item to the list on Sheet2, COUNTA(Sheet2!$A:$A) increases. As a result, the range returned by the OFFSET function expands and the drop-down list will be updated.

4. Do you want to take your Excel skills to the next level? Learn how to create dependent drop-down lists in Excel.

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Only Find Duplicates in Excel

Next Post:

Vlookup Examples in Excel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn Basic Excel

Ribbon
Workbook
Worksheets
Format Cells
Find & Select
Sort & Filter
Templates
Print
Share
Protect
Keyboard Shortcuts

Categories

  • Charts
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Validation
  • Excel Functions
    • Cube Functions
    • Database Functions
    • Date and Time Functions
    • Engineering Functions
    • Financial Functions
    • Information Functions
    • Logical Functions
    • Lookup and Reference Functions
    • Math and Trig Functions
    • Statistical Functions
    • Text Functions
    • Web Functions
  • Excel VBA
  • Excel Video Tutorials
  • Formatting
  • Grouping
  • Others
  • DBCS function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • Replace one character with another in Excel
  • SUBSTITUTE function vs REPLACE function in Excel
  • How to add a line break with a formula while joining text strings in Excel
  • Convert text to numbers using VALUE function in Excel
  • How to get year from date in Excel
  • How to get Holiday Date from Year in Excel
  • Calculate time difference in hours as decimal value in Excel
  • Calculate days remaining in Excel
  • Add decimal minutes to time in Excel
  • How to set check register balance in Excel
  • Compound Annual Growth Rate CAGR formula examples in Excel
  • ODDLYIELD function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • PV function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • IPMT function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
Acronyms, Abbreviations, Initialism & What They Stand For
© 2021 xlsoffice. All Rights Reserved | Teal Smiles