
Click OK to add the data validation rule to the selected cell.Then type in a Title and error message for the warning. Make sure that Show error alert after invalid data is entered is checked, and then select the Style in the drop-down list. Select the Error Alert tab and set up a message when the user does not select from the valid drop-down list.To set up a message to inform the worksheet users that they need to select from a drop-down list, select the Input Message tab and check the Show input message when cell is selected check box.Type in the name of the range as the Source for the drop-down list. In the Settings tab, select List under Allow, and ensure that Ignore blank and In-cell dropdown are checked.
In the Ribbon, select Data > Data Tools > Data Validation. Select the cell where you want the first (main) drop-down list to go. After creating the range names, in the Ribbon, select Formulas > Name Manager (or press CTRL + F3 on the keyboard) to see the range names in the Name Manager.Ĭreate the First Drop-Down List Using Data Validationĭrop-down lists are a type of data validation rule. Repeat this for each of the individual lists (for this example, Apple, Samsung, and LG). Type in the name for the range of data, and then click OK. In the Ribbon, select Formulas > Define Name. Then select the data for the first list and create a range name for that data. This can be in a separate worksheet or in a range of blank cells to the right of the required drop-down lists. In a separate location, type in the information that is required for the drop-down lists. The first step in creating cascading drop-down lists is to set a location to store the list data and create range names from those lists of data. If the user were to select either Apple or Samsung, then the list would change to show the relevant models for those makes of phone. The list showing Phone Models of phones will then show only the LG models. In the example above, the user has selected LG as the Phone Make. This tutorial will demonstrate how to create a cascading (also called “dependent” or “conditional”) drop-down list in Excel and Google Sheets.Ī cascading drop-down list is a list based on the value that is selected in a different list.