A drop-down list helps the user by giving an option to select from a pre-defined list. It helps to ensure that entries are uniform and error free. It also restricts the users to select a value from a pre-approved list.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a drop-down list from a scratch.

Step 1: Create a Data table

To create a drop-down list, we need to enter data on a worksheet which can later be converted to list. Here we have three departments and their employees.

Step 2: Add data validation to a cell. Go to Data tab > under data tools group > select Data Validation symbol.

Step 3: Under Data Validation, Select List (under Allow) and select Departments in the source (A4:C4)

Step 4: After completing all the above steps, we have created a data validation list which contains all the department.

What if we want to create a dependent drop-down list, a second list which changes with the value selected from the first list.