How to Use an Excel Drop Down List to Organize Your Data In today’s business world, data can be just as important as the products or services you’re selling. If you’ve got more information than you know what to do with, it can be hard to stay organized and find what you need when you need it. One way to keep your data organized and easily accessible is by creating an Excel drop down list. If you’re not sure how to create an Excel drop down list from scratch, check out these steps below!

 Learn how to use your drop-down lists

Excel drop down lists are a great way to make data entry easier. They allow users to select values from a list of options without having to type the information in manually. To create a drop down list, click on the cell you want your list to appear in and then select Data > Validation. In the window that pops up, click List, and then type in the items for your list separated by commas. You can also specify whether your user can choose more than one item from your list and how many items they can choose.

Create a new drop down list

Now that you’ve created your drop down list, it’s time to fill in the items. First, click on the cell where you want the first item of your list to be displayed. Next, go up and select Data. Once you’re there, select Data Validation, then check off List and select the range of cells from which your drop down list will come from. Lastly, hit OK and type in a description for this validation that will appear in a message box when someone tries to enter something other than one of your pre-selected items.

One thing that is important to note about creating lists is that it might be necessary for you to have more than one validation for them.

Add data to your new drop-down lists

1. Go to the tab you want your drop down list from.
2. Highlight the columns of data you want on the drop-down list and then click Insert > New List > OK
3.  To add items to the drop-down list, right click on it and select Edit Items
4.  Click Add Item, type in a name for your new item, and then click OK
5.  Repeat steps 3 & 4 until all desired items are added
6.  Now go back to the tab where you inserted your new drop-down list
7.  Right click on one of your data cells and select Data Validation
8.  On the window that pops up, go over to Allow: Type in =name

Apply it across the board

Creating a drop-down list from another tab is a great way to organize and condense your data. You can also use this technique if you have a large volume of data that you need to search through and want it narrowed down for you.

1) Right-click on the column of cells in the list that you want turned into a drop-down menu, then select Data from the pop-up menu.

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Danielle Steel