#Microsoft excel drop down list how to
#Microsoft excel drop down list update
#Microsoft excel drop down list windows 10

It even works for noncontiguous Excel cells. Doing so will populate multiple drop-downs with the same list items. Select the range of data input cells (Step 1) instead of a single Excel cell. You can add a drop-down to multiple Excel cells. Identify the list items that will populate the drop-down.Ĭlick the drop-down to see the list shown earlier ( Figure A). Click the Source control and highlight B3:B6 - the list items.įigure B Image: Susan Harkins/TechRepublic.In the resulting Data Validation dialog, click List from the Allow options drop-down.Click the Data tab and then click Data Validation in the Data Tools group.Select D2 to follow the example, but you can put the drop-down anywhere.To add the drop-down list in our example to an Excel cell, do the following: Technically, the list items don’t need to be formatted as a Table, but a Table makes the drop-down dynamic. In the resulting dialog, make sure the My Table Has Headers option is selected, and click OK. Simply click any cell in the list and press Ctrl + T. First, add the short list ( Figure A) to B3:B6 and format it as an Excel Table object. Now that you know how users and your data will benefit from a drop-down list, let’s add one to D2.

#Microsoft excel drop down list how to

How to add a data validation drop-down in Excel The list is in B3:B6 and the data entry cell is D2. To create a data validation drop-down list in Excel, you need two things: A list of values and a blank cell to use as the data entry cell. Use data validation to limit choices during data entry.

If a user tries to enter something that isn’t an item within that list of values, Excel rejects the entry, protecting the validity of your data.įigure A Image: Susan Harkins/TechRepublic. To use the drop-down, click the data entry cell (D2 in this case) and then click the drop-down arrow to display the list of values in B3:B6. What is a drop-down list in Excel?įigure A shows a simple drop-down list in an Excel sheet. You can’t expand an Excel Table by tabbing through the cell to insert a new row, but you can still add a row. Microsoft Excel for the web supports data validation and you can even add a data validation drop-down list in the web version.

#Microsoft excel drop down list update

You can still use a data range for the list, but the populated drop-down won’t update when you update the list items. However, the Table object isn’t available in the older menu versions (.xls) so some of this article won’t apply if you’re still using an. For your convenience, you can download the demonstration.

#Microsoft excel drop down list windows 10

I’m using Microsoft 365 desktop on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you can use an earlier version. SEE: Windows, Linux, and Mac commands everyone needs to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic) In this article, I’ll show you a quick and easy way to create a drop-down list using Excel’s Data Validation feature. Using a drop-down limits the entry choices for a selected cell, speeding data entry and reducing data entry error. An Excel drop-down list can make it easier for the average Microsoft Excel user to enter data.