Here’s the quickest way to set up a drop down menu in Excel:
- In your Excel workbook, select the cells that you want to apply the drop down menu to.
- Click on the Data Validation menu (in the Data tab in the Excel Ribbon), or use the shortcut Alt-A-V-V.
- In the “Allow:” dropdown menu, select “List”.
- In the “Source:” box, enter in your values separated by commas.
- Click OK to save the Data Validation options. Your cells will now have a menu when they are selected in Excel.
- Select the cells that you want to contain the lists.
- On the ribbon, click DATA > Data Validation.
- In the dialog, set Allow to List.
- Click in Source, type the text or numbers (separated by commas, for a comma-delimited list) that you want in your drop-down list, and click OK.
How do you create a drop down table in Excel?
Here’s the quickest way to set up a drop down menu in Excel:
- In your Excel workbook, select the cells that you want to apply the drop down menu to.
- Click on the Data Validation menu (in the Data tab in the Excel Ribbon), or use the shortcut Alt-A-V-V.
- In the “Allow:” dropdown menu, select “List”.
- In the “Source:” box, enter in your values separated by commas.
How do you insert a drop down option in Excel?
To add a new dropdown list in Smartsheet, follow the steps below:
- Open Smartsheet and decide where you want to add a dropdown column.
- Click on the three-dot icon on the column header where you want to add a new dropdown list.
- Either choose “Insert Column Right” or “Insert Column Left.”
- A new tab will pop up.
- Enter the title of your new dropdown list in the field.
How to quickly create a dynamic drop down list in Excel?
How to quickly create a dynamic drop down list in Excel We start by creating a defined name a. Select the Formulas Tab, then Define b. ... To create a data validation list: a. Select the Dashboard worksheet, then select cell N2 b. ... Select the drop down list in cell Q2 .There are only six months in the list Select the List worksheet and increase the number of months to December (12) More items...
How to create dropdown menu in Excel?
- Step I: This is your excel sheet. ...
- Step II: Select Data- Data Validation from the option given below.
- Step III: Then select List.
- Step IV: In the source, you have to enter the values that you want to put in the dropdown list, pressing the change arrow as you can see in the ...
- Step V: Here is the list just by clicking OK.
How do I create a drop-down list in Excel without List?
#2 By Entering Data ManuallySelect a cell where you want to create the drop down list (cell C2 in this example).Go to Data –> Data Tools –> Data Validation.In the Data Validation dialogue box, within the Settings tab, select List as the Validation criteria. ... In the source field, enter Yes, No. ... Click OK.
How do you create a drop-down list in Excel and edit it?
Edit a drop-down list with items that have been entered manuallyOn the worksheet where you applied the drop-down list, select a cell that has the drop-down list.Go to Data > Data Validation.On the Settings tab, click in the Source box, and then change your list items as needed.More items...
How can I create a drop-down list in Excel 2010?
Select the cell that will contain the drop-down list (cell B2, in this example). In the Allow drop-down list, select List. In the Source box, specify the range that contains the items (In this example, the range is E1:E8). Make sure that the In-Cell Dropdown option is checked.
How do you insert a selection box in Excel?
Open an Excel workbook.Choose a cell to house your drop-down menu.Navigate to the Data tab at the top of the screen. It's nestled between Formulas and Review atop the Ribbon.Click the Data Validation button.Highlight the cells you want to include in the selection options of your drop-down menu, and click OK.
How to edit a drop down in Excel?
Open the Excel spreadsheet file you want to edit. You can find and double-click a saved Excel file on your computer, or open Microsoft Excel and create a new worksheet. Enter the list of values for your drop-down in a column. Make sure to enter each drop-down entry in a separate, consecutive cell in the same column.
How to type drop down list?
When typing the list of items for your drop-down list, type them in the order in which you want them to appear in the drop-down menu. For example, you can type your entries in alphabetical order to make it easier for users to find certain items or values.
What is in cell dropdown?
In-cell dropdown option. When this option is checked, you will create a drop-down list in the selected cell on your spreadsheet.
What is the Show input message option?
Show input message... option. This option allows you to display a tiny pop-up message when the drop-down is selected.
Can you leave empty fields in Excel?
You can leave these fields empty. In this case, the error title and message will default to Microsoft Excel's generic error template.
How to Create a Drop-Down List in Excel?
Click on the data menu and choose the data validation menu as shown below.
Can you create a template in Excel?
We can easily create a professional template by using the Drop Down List in Excel, mainly used for the data validation part.
Create a drop-down list using existing data
If you want to create and insert a drop-down list using data already entered in the spreadsheet, follow the steps below.
Create a drop-down list by defining the list of values
If you want to create and insert a drop-down list, and define the list of values to display, follow the steps below.
How to add drop down menu in Excel?
Here’s the quickest way to set up a drop down menu in Excel: In your Excel workbook, select the cells that you want to apply the drop down menu to. Click on the Data Validation menu (in the Data tab in the Excel Ribbon), or use the shortcut Alt-A-V-V. In the “Allow:” dropdown menu, select “List”. In the “Source:” box, enter in your values separated ...
What does "drop down menu" mean in Excel?
It means you can simply refer to a column within an Excel table, and the menu will automatically update based on the items in that list. If you anticipate adding extra items to your drop down menu over time, then this method is the best long-term solution as it’s the “cleanest” way to refer to your list of menu items.
How to create a table in Excel?
Select the data range you just entered (including the heading), and create an Excel Table by going to Insert > Table from the Excel Ribbon, or by using the shortcut Ctrl + T. Click OK when the dialog box appears.
What is method 3 in Excel?
Method #3 requires you to create an Excel Table, but is perfect for creating a foolproof drop down Excel menu that can handle anything you throw at it.
What if you want to update your menu items later?
What if you want to update your menu items later? If one of the departments in your company has a name change, then you would have to select all of the cells that use the drop down menu, and manually update the details .
Where is the data validation menu in Excel?
The Data Validation menu is in the Data tab in the Excel Ribbon:
Which is better: drop down list or drop down menu?
Drop down list method #1 is the quickest way, but not very good for long-term Excel files. Method #2 is a little more stable and allows you to consistently edit the drop down menu items without breaking anything. Method #3 requires you to create an Excel Table, but is perfect for creating a foolproof drop down Excel menu ...
How to create a drop down list in Excel?
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. 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.
How to add a drop down list to the end of a list?
You can also use a formula that updates your drop-down list automatically when you add an item to the end of the list. 1. On the first sheet, select cell B1. 2. On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click Data Validation. The 'Data Validation' dialog box appears. 3.
How to allow other entries in Excel?
Allow Other Entries. You can also create a drop-down list in Excel that allows other entries. 1. First, if you type a value that is not in the list, Excel shows an error alert. To allow other entries, execute the following steps. 2. On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click Data Validation.
How to create dependent drop down list?
For example, if the user selects Pizza from a first drop-down list. 2. A second drop-down list contains the Pizza items. 3. But if the user selects Chinese from the first drop-down list, the second drop-down list contains the Chinese dishes.
What is indirect function in Excel?
Explanation: the INDIRECT function in Excel converts a text string into a valid reference.
Can you store items in an Excel table?
You can also store your items in an Excel table to create a dynamic drop-down list.
How to make a drop down menu in Excel?
You can make a drop-down menu in Excel using a list from another workbook as the source. To do this, you will have to create 2 named ranges - one in the source book and another in the book where you wish to use your Excel Data Validation list.
What to do after you create a drop down box in Excel?
After you've created a drop-down list in Excel, you might want to add more entries to it or delete some of the existing items. How you do this depends on how your drop down box was created.
How to change the cell references in Excel?
Click Data Validation on the Data tab. In the Excel Data Validation window, on the Settings tab, change the cell references in the Source box. You can either edit them manually or click the Collapse Dialog icon. Click the OK button to save the changes and close the window.
How to select non-contiguous cells in Excel?
You can even select non-contiguous cells by pressing and holding the Ctrl key while selecting the cells with the mouse. 2. Use Excel Data Validation to create a drop-down list. On the Excel ribbon, go to the Data tab > Data Tools group and click Data Validation. 3. Enter the list items and choose the options.
Why do we use drop downs in Excel?
The main purpose of using drop down lists in Excel is to limit the number of choices available for the user. Apart from that, a dropdown prevents spelling mistakes and makes data input faster. How to create a drop-down list in Excel. Make a drop-down list from another workbook.
What is a combo box in Excel?
The term "combo box" means an editable dropdown that allows users to either select a value from the list or type a value directly in the box.
How to create a dynamically updated drop down list in Excel?
The easiest way to create such a dynamically updated drop-down list in Excel is by creating a named list based on a table. If for some reason you prefer a usual named range, then reference it using the OFFSET formula, as explained below.
How to add drop down list in Excel?
Drop-down lists make it easier and more efficient to enter data into your spreadsheets. Simply click the arrow and select an option. You can add drop-down lists to cells in Excel containing options such as Yes and No, Male and Female, or any other custom list of options.
What happens if you remove a drop down list?
If there was an option selected when you removed the drop-down list, the cell is populated with the value of that option.
What The Excel Drop Down Menu Looks Like
- Open the Excel spreadsheet file you want to edit. You can find and double-click a saved Excel file on your computer, or open Microsoft Excel and create a new worksheet.
- Enter the list of values for your drop-down in a column. Make sure to enter each drop-down entry in a separate, consecutive cell in the same column. For example, if you want your drop-down list to include "New York," "Boston," and "Los Angeles," you can type "New York" in cell A…
Introducing The Data Validation Menu
Process
Benefits
What’s The Solution?
- You can’t create a drop down list in Excel without using the Data Validation feature. Think of Data Validation is a restriction or limitation that Excel applies to the cells you specify. You can choose the criteria, of course. You can force cells to be integers, dates, or values from a specific list (which is what you’ll be using for creating these menus) and a few other options. The Data V…
Even More Benefits!
- Here’s the quickest way to set up a drop down menu in Excel: 1. In your Excel workbook, select the cells that you want to apply the drop down menu to. 2. Click on the Data Validation menu (in the Data tab in the Excel Ribbon), or use the shortcut Alt-A-V-V. 3. In the “Allow:” dropdown menu, select “List”. 4. In the “Source:” box, enter in your valu...