How to Create, Edit, and Delete Dropdown Lists in Google Sheets

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How to Create a Dropdown List on Google Sheets

Here’s how to create a dropdown list onGoogle Sheetsby manually adding the options.

Step 1:Click on thedataoption on the toolbar. Click onData Validation.

Step 2: Select all the cellsyou want to add a dropdown list for. Click on theDropdownunder Criteria.

Step 3:Click onAdd Rule.

Step 4:You will get to create an option.Enter the namefor the option.

Step 5:To enter another option, click onAdd another item.

Step 6:You can also add colors to the options. Click on thebutton indicating the colornext to the option and select your desired color.

Step 7:In case you want to delete an option, simply click on thetrash iconnext to an option.

Step 8:You get a few more options to modify the dropdown list. Click onAdvanced options.

Step 9:You get to add a warning or reject an invalid input, show help text for the dropdown menu, or change the display style of the dropdown menu.

If you do not want to manually add options to your dropdown list, here’s how you can use existing spreadsheet data and create a dropdown list on Google Sheets.

How to Create a Dropdown List from Existing Data on Google Sheets

Step 1:Click onDataon the toolbar, and selectData Validation.

Step 2: Select all the cellsin which you want to add to the dropdown list. Click onAdd Rule.

Step 3:SelectDropdown (from a range)under Criteria.

Step 4:Under the Criteria option,enter the cell rangethat contains the data for the dropdown list.

Step 5:The dropdown list will be created with an option from the range of cells that are selected.

Edit or Delete a Dropdown List on Google Sheets

Here’s how you can modify, or delete a dropdown list onGoogle Sheets.

Step 1:Click on theDataoption on the toolbar. Click onData Validation.

Step 2:Select thedropdown listfrom the sidebar, based on the range of cells displayed under the data validation rule.

Step 3:You will get all the options to edit or modify the dropdown list.

Step 4:In case you want to delete a dropdown list on Google Sheets, all you need to do is go toData -> Data Validationand click on thetrash iconnext to the data validation rule for the list.

Copy a Dropdown List in Google Sheets

Here’s how you can copy a dropdown list on Google Sheets.

Step 1: Select all the cellsof the dropdown list that you want to copy.

Step 2: Right-clickand selectCopy.

You can either paste the dropdown list as is or paste the dropdown list without the selection options. We’ll show you how to do the former.

Note:If you are unable to copy-paste on Google Sheets, download and install theGoogle Sheets Offline extensionon your browser. (Chrome, Edge and Brave browser)

Click onPaste, and the dropdown list will be copied as it is, with the selected options.

Here’s what a copied dropdown list will look like.

However, if you want to paste the list without the selected options, click onPaste->Paste Specialand selectData Validation Only.

The selected options will not apply to the newly copied dropdown list on Google Sheets.

Apply Conditional Formatting to a Dropdown List on Google Sheets

Conditional formatting lets you format data in a cell based on various specified conditions. For example, you might want to underline an option, add a background color to a specific option, or make a specific response bold in the dropdown list.

Here’s how you can apply conditional formatting to a dropdown list on Google Sheets.

Step 1: Select all the cellsyou want to add conditional formatting rules.Right-clickand selectConditional formatting.

Step 2:Select the condition under theFormat cells ifoption. Click to open the dropdown menu, and select the condition you want.

Step 3:Select the desired formatting style based on the condition.

Also Read:How to get dark mode in Google Sheets

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Last updated on 26 August, 2024

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