drop down combo list

[sbnz]

Hi,

Can any of you Excel experts help me (an ordinary Excel user) in identifying what type of control object (or some other type of object) the attached drop down list is made from? This is not a combo box from the control toolbar. By right clicking on "Form Control" I can see an additional tab of "Control" which allows to define the input source, no of drop down lines etc. It does not have any "Property" tab of a control object.

Just trying to understand the design of an existing spreadsheet created by my predecessor to incorporate some modifications - I can appreciate this item he has used but can't unscramble it. Please help.

cheers,

 

[Clyde38]

Looks like a "Combo Box" from the "Form controls" menu. This is not an "ActiveX" control. It is also available in Microsoft Word. It's easier to use but you don't have as much control as you would with the ActiveX combo box. I think it is under the "Forms" menu in EXCEL 2003. It is in "Developer, controls, insert" section of the ribbon in EXCEL 2007.

 

[sbnz]

Thanks heaps Clyde

You are right - it is not an ActiveX control, but one of the forms that can be used from the "Forms" toolbar.

It looks so easy and obvious once you know the answer - I was struggling for hours to figure out the object type unsuccessfully.

cheers,

 

[Robbo1971]

is it a 'Data Validation'?

This can be found on the top menu under 'Data' then 'Validation'...

 

[GeoPracRockman]

Robbo1971 is on the right track. I think you can embed a combo box control within your spreadsheet, but the Data Validation method is much easier and more generally useful.

On Excel 2007 it's under the Data tab, then "Data Validation". I can't remember where it is in earlier versions but not too hard to find.

Under settings, choose to limit values to a list. You can hard code values separated by commas, or you can specify a range. The range must be on the same worksheet as the cells containing the validation rules. A workaround is to use a named range in which case I think you can have the list on a separate worksheet.

Not sure if this helps with an existing spreadsheet that has combo box controls, but it might not be too dificult to replace them with data validation which is much easier to manage.



Rockman (Randy Post)
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