how to make a drop down list in google sheets

Go to “Format” Menu and select “Alternating Colors”.

Highlight the range of cells you would like to color.

Alternating colors is the simplest method to color code our list so we will go through that first: Alternating Colors To add some color to our drop-down list we can use either alternating colors or conditional formatting. We can use “ copy” and “ paste”, we can simply drag our existing drop-down list along, or we can highlight the list of cells we want to add to our drop-down to when initially creating the list. There are a number of ways to add our drop-down list to other cells. How To Add A Drop-Down List To Multiple Cells Now it’s time to copy it to multiple cells and add a little color. The available options will match the list you used to create the menu. A down arrow will appear in the cell you created the list in and you will be able to select a value from the drop-down menu. If you select “ Show warning”, other values can be input which defeats the point of a drop-down list!Ĭlick save and your new drop-down list will be created.

Select ' Reject input' under ' On invalid data' to ensure only values from your list are input.

Make sure “ Show dropdown list in cell” is checked.The image below shows where this option is located. To do this we follow the same steps but we instead choose 'List of items'. By manually entering the items we avoid having to include the list on our worksheet. Note: We can also manually enter list items. In the data validation dialog box, on the criteria drop-down, select “ List from a range” and in the adjacent cell highlight all the cells you would like to include.Go to “Data Menu” and select “Data Validation.”.Start with a list of data in one column and choose the location of the cell you would like your drop-down list to be in.This method is fast and effective, and it gives you a lot of control over how your drop-down list looks and functions. The primary way to create drop-down lists in Google Sheets is by using the Data Validation feature. And third, they can help you avoid making mistakes when entering data into your spreadsheet.Second, they can make it easier for you to find the data you're looking for.First, they can help you keep your data organized and tidy.It's actually very easy to do!ĭrop-down lists can be very useful for a number of reasons: In this guide, we will show you how to create drop-down lists from scratch.

How to make a drop down list in google sheets