Autocomplete drop down list Excel
Learn to create an Excel drop-down list, use autofill, and flash fill functions to save you a ton of time. Excel can identify patterns, automatically display consecutive data, set up message alerts, and more. With these tools, you no longer need to type the same data over and over! Show What are These Functions?
Read on to learn more and discover how easy it is to use them. How to Create an Excel Drop-down ListCreate a list in Excel. For example, it could be a list of grocery items. Or simply Yes and No. 1. On your existing worksheet, click on the cell/s where you want a drop-down list. 2. Go to Data Data Validation Settings tab. 3. In the Allow drop-down menu, select List. 4. Click on the Source field, then go to the list you created and select it. 5. Click on the small arrow to expand the Data Validation box again (bottom right corner of the floating field). 6. Press Ok. 7. An arrow symbol will appear beside your cell to indicate theres now a drop-down list. 8. Click on the arrow to pick from the list, which will appear in your cell. Tip: If you have a long list, you can scroll with your arrow keys, or press alt+up/down arrow, or type the first few letters of the word. How to Extend an Excel Drop-down ListThere are a couple of ways to do this. Copy & PasteSimply copy the cell with the drop-down list and paste it to another cell. Data Validation1. Select the cell with the drop-down list and the cells beneath it that you want to include. 2. Go to Data Validation You will get this message: 3. Click Yes to open the Data Validation box (as shown above) Ok. 4. The drop-down list will now appear on every cell you highlighted. How to Update Data Validation ListTo include more words in your drop-down list, go to your source list to add them. (E.g. in this case, add the word Maybe). If you have a long list of words, its best to sort them alphabetically. Adding to this list wont automatically update your drop-down list. You then need to:
Alerts and MessagesIf you type a word that doesnt exist in the drop-down list, you will get this alert: To add the word to your list, follow the steps above. However, you can also control error alerts to suit you. To do this:
Or change the alert to a warning: 1. Data Validation Error Alert. 2. In the Style drop-down menu, change to Warning. 3. Add a title and error message (e.g. Please add to source list) Ok. 4. Now you can type a word that doesnt exist, but youll first get this warning: Or you can change the alert to information:
You can also input a message on the cell itself:
How to Remove a Drop-down ListThere are two ways you can do this:
Note: This will also clear any error messages and input alerts. OR
Note: this will not clear any alerts or input messages. How to Use Flash Fill and AutoFillFlash FillExcel picks up on any patterns of the data youre filling in. This can be handy for filling columns with certain data instead of manually typing. One good example is having customer information you want to separate for envelope labels.
E.g. Type data in column D (First Name) and column E (Surname) using the information in column A (Name).
Keyboard shortcut: ctrl+E AutofillInstead of manually typing a lot of sequential data, you can use the Autofill function. Excel will calculate the proceeding cell data based on the value in the first cell.
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