How to Create Drop Down Lists in Excel, step by step
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The document explains how to create and manage drop-down lists in Excel to control data entry, ensuring accuracy and consistency. It provides a step-by-step guide including creating lists, setting up validation, defining source data, and adding input and error messages. Using drop-down lists can significantly enhance data quality by preventing errors at the source.
How to Create Drop Down Lists in Excel, step by step
- 1. Drop Down Lists In Excel
- 2. Dropdown lists in Excel are a useful feature that allow users to select an item from a list of options. They are commonly used in data entry to control what data is entered. And to ensure that users do not enter incorrect data, preventing some errors
- 3. Creating a drop-down list step by step guide to creating a drop-down list in Excel We will use an example of creating a master list of stores for a fictional retailer, we want to control three key inputs Nearest City, we want to have no misspellings, no abbreviations and consistent names Location Type, we want to limit to High Street, Shopping Centre or Retail Park Brand, select the brand from a list, avoiding typo's
- 4. Step 1, Create the lists We added a store attributes page Then added the key lists that we want to control It is also a good idea to create these as Excel tables Once you have finished the lists, highlight them and press Ctrl + T on each one to make them an excel table
- 5. Step 2, Set up Validation Select the cell you want to have the drop-down list appear in On the Ribbon, click on Data Validation
- 6. Step 3, Define the Source Data In the allow settings, Choose ‘List’ Then in source, set the range of cells that contain the values you want to appear in the drop down Ensure the In cell dropdown option is ticked and click OK You now have a drop down list
- 7. Making the list dynamic Similar to a fixed list But….. In the source you use the INDIRECT function to return values from the column (Brand) in the table (Brands) Now this range will automatically include any new brands that get added
- 8. To edit a drop-down list To edit a dropdown list, simply select one of the cells with the validation, and select data validation on the data ribbon You are then presented with the data validation dialogue box. From there you can edit the settings or other controls as you need to
- 9. Add an input message You have the option to add an input message. This message can pop up to prompt the user to select a value from the drop-down list You can enter your own text in this message To do this, select the cell with the validation, then when the data validation box appears, select the Input message tab
- 10. Add an error message It is also a good idea to add an error message Go to the Error Alert tab Set the style to Stop, Enter a title and message This then shows if a user enters an invalid value You can also change the style to warning or information (These allow invalid values)
- 11. Using drop down lists in excel is a really simple yet powerful way to begin to control data quality, preventing errors at source whilst giving you control over what users see
- 12. For more Tips, Tricks and Timesavers, visit our website Business Analytics Blog – Select Distinct Credit: [email protected]