In the Define Name dialog box, click Add, and then click Close.

Select the cell where you want the drop-down list.

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3. On the Data menu, click Validation, and then click the Settings tab. In the Allow box, click List. If the list is in the same worksheet, enter a reference to your list in the Source box.

If the list is elsewhere, enter the name you defined for your list in the Source box.

Make sure the reference or name is preceded with an equal sign (=).

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6. Make sure the In-cell drop-down check box is selected. Specify whether the cell can be left blank: Select or clear the Ignore blank check box. To display optional input instructions when the cell is clicked, click the Input Message tab, make sure the

Show input message when cell is selected check box is selected, and then fill in the title and text for the message.

7. Specify how you want Microsoft Excel to respond when invalid data is entered.

Click the Error Alert tab, and make sure the Show error alert after invalid data is entered check box is selected.

Select one of the following options for the Style box:

To display an information message that does not prevent entry of invalid data, click Information.To display a warning message that does not prevent entry of invalid data, click Warning.To prevent entry of invalid data, click Stop.

Fill in the title and text for the message (up to 225 characters).

Note If you don't enter a title or text, the title defaults to " Microsoft Excel" and the message to: "The value you entered is not valid. A user has restricted values that can be entered into this cell."

Notes

Applying data validation to a cell does not format the cell. A drop-down list you create for a cell will be represented by an arrow next to that

cell . To enter information in that cell, click the arrow, and then click the entry you want. To make entering of repeated data easier, Excel automatically generates a drop-down list of all the unique

items in a column. This drop-down list is not attached to a specific cell, nor is it represented by an arrow. To select information from this drop-down list, right-click the cell directly above or below other entries in a column, and then click Pick From Drop-down List.

Tip

If the entry list is short, you can type the entries directly in the Source box, separated by the Microsoft Windows list separator character (commas by default). For example, you could type Low, Average, High in the Source box instead of entering the three words on a worksheet.