Creating a drop-down list in a cell

To create your own drop-down list for the cell, do the following:

   1.   Create a column or a row of the items in the active spreadsheet for the drop-down list.

   2.   Select the cell that needs a drop-down list for data validation (cell B2, in this example).

   3.   On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click Data Validation:

   4.   In the Data Validation dialog box, on the Settings tab:

• In the Allow drop-down list, select the List item.
• In the Source box, specify the range that contains the drop-down list items (in this example, the range is E1:E8).
• Check In-Cell Dropdown option to show the drop-down list. Otherwise, Excel validates your data entry but does not show the drop-down button to select items from the list.

   5.   Click OK.

Notes:

• You can hide the range of values used in the Source box or create it on the protected sheet that you can hide.
• You can add the drop-down list to multiple cells by selecting the appropriate cells or copy/paste the cell with a list.
• If the list is short, you can avoid Step 1. Instead, type your list items (separated by commas) in the Source box in the Data Validation dialog box:
  
• If you plan to share your workbook with users of Excel 2007 or earlier, make sure that the list is on the same sheet as the drop-down list. Alternatively, you can use a named range.

See also this tip in French: Création d’une liste déroulante dans une cellule.