If you’re like most people, you probably use Microsoft Excel to keep track of important information. But what if you want to keep track of a list of items that are dependent on other items? For example, you might want to create a list of all the books in your library that are required for a class. You could also create a list of all the movies that are required for a movie night. In either case, you’ll need to create a drop-down list in order to keep track of these dependent items. To do this, open Microsoft Excel and click on the Tools button. Then click on the Options button. Under the General tab, select the Dependent Items check box and click on OK. Now when you want to add an item to your dependent list, just click on its name and it will be added automatically to your drop-down list.
Does using a drop-down list in Microsoft Excel make data entry easier for you or your co-workers? If you said yes and want to go a step further, you can create a dependent drop-down list just as easily.
With a dependent drop-down list, you select the item that you want in the first list, and that determines the items that display as choices in the second one. For example, you might select a product, like a shirt, and then pick a size, a food item, like ice cream, and then pick a flavor, or an album, and then pick a song.
Getting Started
Obviously, you’ll need your first drop-down list set up and ready to go before you can create the dependent list. We have a complete tutorial with all of the details you need to create a drop-down list in Excel for a refresher, so be sure to check that out.
RELATED: How to Add a Drop-Down List to a Cell in Excel
Since setting up the second list follows the same basic process, we’ll start there. Then, we’ll move on to the dependency setup.
Adding and Naming Dependent Drop-Down List Items
For this tutorial, we’ll use departments in our company for the first drop-down list, and then employees in each department for the second list.
Our departments include Marketing, Finance, and Human Resources (HR), and each has three employees. These employees are who we need to add and name.
List the items for the dependent list, and then select the cells. This places the cells in a group so that you can name the group. With the cells selected, go up to the Name Box on the left side of the Formula Bar and enter a name for the cell group.
The names for each group should match the list items in your first dropdown.
Using our example, we’ll name our groups with the departments in our first list: Marketing, Finance, and HR.
You can add the items for your dependent list on the same sheet where the list will reside or on a different one. For the purposes of this how-to, you’ll notice that we have everything on the same sheet.
Creating the Dependent Drop-Down List
Once all of your list items are in a sheet and named, it’s time to create the second drop-down list. You’ll use the Data Validation feature in Excel, just like when creating your first list.
Select the cell where you want the list. Then, go to the Data tab and click “Data Validation” in the Data Tools section of the ribbon.
Choose the Settings tab in the pop-up window. Under Allow, pick “List,” and to the right, check the box for In-Cell Dropdown. Optionally, you can check the box to Ignore Blank cells if you like.
In the Source box, enter the formula below. Be sure to replace the cell reference in parentheses with the cell containing your first drop-down list.
If you’d like to include an Input Message or Error Alert, select those tabs in the pop-up window and enter the details. When you finish, click “OK” to add the drop-down list to the cell.
Now, give your list a test. When you select an item in the first drop-down list, you should see the items pertaining to your selection as options in the second list.
For quicker data entry for yourself or your collaborators, try a dependent drop-down list in Excel!
