How to make a Dropdown List in Excel

The video guide shows how to create a dropdown list by comma separating the possible responses in Excel. If you don't want to restrict users to items in the list, you can select the Error Alert tab in the Validation menu, and uncheck the box 'Show error alert after invalid data has been entered'.

As well as entering a comma separated list of items, you can also enter a formula in the space where you would normally type a list. This should refer to a range of cells in a single column. The simplest form is '=A1:A10' but can incorporate functions like OFFSET, as long as the formula returns a set of cells and not a value. In its simplest form, you will then be able to see all your items on-screen at once and include items containing a comma.

If you have an evolving list, you should put the list into an Excel table. If you assign a range name such as 'ProductList' to the items, you can type '=ProductList' as your source data when creating the dropdown list. If you add new products to your Excel table, they will automatically be incorporated in the 'ProductList' range, so will immediately be available in your dropdown list. Items being pulled from an Excel sheet will always appear in the same order as they do in the Excel worksheet so, if you sort your table A-Z, they will appear in alphabetical order in your dropdown.

By Ed Bolton, founder of Excel4Business Ltd. Last reviewed September 2026.