#Insert drop down menu in excel 2016 manual#
Many a times we have fields which have limited type of entries and which can’t be given to the user for manual entry. The data validation is a very important aspect of any data filling job. It gives us the power to condition the values which can be entered and rejected into any cell. Also, check out our other Microsoft Office tips and our tutorial for creating drop-downs in Google Sheets.Data validation means to check the data before entry.
![insert drop down menu in excel 2016 insert drop down menu in excel 2016](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5M_e7TMSXSw/Wf9iPgCeBwI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/_bPpRoQr8JgEkEvH5viQamy07tay24SZgCEwYBhgL/s1600/5.png)
How have you made use of drop-down lists in Excel? Let us know in the comments. If you try to enter an option that doesn’t match any of the preset options, the Error Alert you set up displays on a dialog box. If you added an Input Message to the drop-down list, it displays when you select a cell containing the drop-down list. Now, when you click on a cell to which you added a data validation list, a drop-down list will display, and you can select an option. It’s best to keep the error message short and informational. For this example, accept the default option of Stop in the Style drop-down list.Įnter the Title and Error message for the Error Alert. You can also select Warning or Information. The default option for the Style of the error alert is Stop. To add an error message, click the Error Alert tab. In our example, the error message displays when someone types an option into the cell that doesn’t match any of the preset options. Next, enter a Title and the Input message in the boxes.Īnother option item on the drop-down list is an error message, which would display when a user tried to enter data that doesn’t match the validation settings. To add a message that displays when a cell containing the drop-down list is selected, click the Input Message tab. It’s a good idea to keep the message short. Maybe you want to display a help message or tip. You can add an optional message to the drop-down list. The worksheet name and the cell range with the options are added to the Source box on the Data Validation dialog box.Ĭlick the down arrow on the right side of the Source box to accept the input and expand the dialog box. Next, select the cells containing the options. Click the tab for the worksheet containing the drop-down list options. The Data Validation dialog box shrinks down to just the Source box, and you can access your workbook under the dialog box. To add the list from the separate worksheet to your drop-down list, click the up arrow on the right side of the Source box. You can also hide the worksheet containing the options (right-click on the worksheet tab and select Hide) when you distribute the workbook to your users. We’re now going to use that list to populate the drop-down list in each of the selected cells. This can be time-consuming if you have a long list of items.Įarlier in this article, we created a list of items on a separate worksheet. The first method involves manually typing the options in the Source box separated by commas. Now, we need to specify the source for the options in each drop-down list. Select the Source for the Drop-Down List Options On the Settings tab, you can have Excel restrict entries in the selected cells to dates, numbers, decimals, times, or a certain length.įor our example, select List from the Allow drop-down list to create a drop-down list in each of the selected cells. In the Data Tools section, click the Data Validation button.Īdd a Drop-Down List to the Selected Cells Select the cells you want to add the drop-down lists to. Turn on Data Validation for Selected Cellsįor this example, we want to add drop-down lists to the Rating column or column B. Then, go back to the worksheet with your data. You can do that when you define the data validation or define a list in another location on the same worksheet or another worksheet.įor this example, we’re going to list the options for the drop-down list on another worksheet so click one of the worksheet tabs at the bottom of the Excel window.Įnter each option in a column (or row), one option to a cell.
![insert drop down menu in excel 2016 insert drop down menu in excel 2016](https://nomadedigital.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/excel-date-picker-how-to-insert-date-picker-calendar-in-for-can-you-make-date-drop-down-pickers-in-excel.png)
Next, we’re going to enter a list of options for the drop-down list. You can either type your data in manually or copy and paste it from another source. Create a Data Table and the List of Optionsįirst, set up a basic data table. The steps are also the same in modern versions of Excel in the Microsoft 365 (formerly O365) suite. Although I’m taking the screenshots using Excel 2016, the steps are the same if you’re using older versions.
![insert drop down menu in excel 2016 insert drop down menu in excel 2016](https://cdn.ablebits.com/_img-blog/excel-calendar/excel-popup-calendar.png)
#Insert drop down menu in excel 2016 how to#
Today I’ll show you how to create a drop-down list in a cell using Data Validation.