Page 130 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

112 Data Entry 101
To use the Data Validation feature, put the cell cursor in the cell where you want to restrict the type of data entry that you can make there, and then click the Data Validation button on the Data tab of the Ribbon (or press Alt+AVV). The Data Validation dialog box opens with the Settings tab selected (similar to the one shown in Figure 1-13).
You then click the drop-down button attached to the Allow drop-down list box and select among the following items:
✦ Any Value to remove any previous restrictions thereby canceling data validation and once again enabling the user to enter anything he wishes into the cell
✦ Whole Number to restrict the entry to a whole number that falls within a certain range or adheres to particular parameters that you specify
✦ Decimal to restrict the entry to a decimal number that falls within a cer- tain range or adheres to particular parameters that you specify
✦ List to restrict the entry to one of several text entries that you specify, which you can select from a pop-up menu that’s displayed by clicking a pop-up button that appears to the right of the cell whenever it contains the cell cursor
✦ Date to restrict the entry to a date that falls within a certain range or on or before a particular date
✦ Time to restrict the entry to a time that falls within a certain range or on or before a particular time of the day
✦ Text Length to restrict a text entry so that its length in characters doesn’t fall below or go above a certain number or falls within a range that you specify
✦ Custom to restrict the entry to the parameters specified by a particular formula entered in another cell of the worksheet
To specify an input message after selecting all the items on the Settings tab, click the Input Message tab of the Data Validation dialog box, where you enter a short title for the input message (such as List Entry) in the Title text box, and then enter the text of your message in the Input Message list box below.
To specify an alert message, click the Error Alert tab of the Data Validation dialog box, where you can select the kind of warning from the Style drop- down list: Stop (the default, which uses a red button with a cross in it), Warning (which uses a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in it), or Information (which uses a balloon with a blue I in it). After selecting the type of alert, you then enter the title for its dialog box in its Title text box and enter the text of the alert message in the Error Message list box.