Page 131 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

To apply the restriction you’re defining in the Data Validation dialog box to all the other cells that are formatted the same way as in a cell range format- ted as a table (see Book II, Chapter 2 for details), click the Apply These Changes to All Other Cells with the Same Settings check box before you click OK. To copy the restriction to a range that is not formatted as a table, use the Data Validation feature to set up the type of entry and permitted range in the first cell and then use the Fill handle to copy that cell’s Data Validation settings to subsequent cells in the same column or row.
By far, the most popular use of the Data Validation feature is to create a drop-down menu from which you or someone who uses your spreadsheet can select the appropriate data entry. Figures 1-13 and 1-14 illustrate this type of usage.
As Figure 1-13 shows, on the Settings tab of the Data Validation dialog box,
I chose List from the Allow drop-down list box and then in the Source text box, I designated the cell range A2:A6, which just happens to contain the list of allowable entries. (You can type them in the Source text box separated by commas if the list doesn’t already exist someplace on the worksheet.) Notice in this figure that, as soon as you select List in the Allow combo box, a check box appears. Keep this check box selected because it tells Excel to create
a drop-down list (or pop-up menu, as it’s also called) containing only the entries specified in the Source text box.
Data Entry 101 113
Figure 1-13:
Creating
a custom drop-down list in
the Data Validation dialog box.
Book II Chapter 1
Building Worksheets