Many SEARCHABLE Drop-Down Lists in Excel (No VBA)

[@LeilaGharani]

Grab the file I used in the video from here 👉 pages.xelplus.com/multiple-searchable-dropdown

[@liquidbydesign]

Thanks for your video! I found a way to use multiple searchable drop-down lists with only one data validation prep list, that should reduce the file size if you have many drop-down lists. If you input the formula =CELL("contents") into a cell, that cell is updated with the most recently updated cell value in the worksheet. All I did was following the guide, using the formula =IF(CELL("content")=0,"",CELL("content")) in cell D1 and instead of Report!B5 in cell D2 I used D1. With that IF-function included, the formula returns "" instead of 0 if the last updated cell is empty. An important change to be able to browse the complete list with no text entered.

[@karinaaguilar2279]

I tried this option and works almost perfectly, but when I go to the next cell to fill, it filters and only displays the values that meet the past criteria. You said that with the IF function it would be solved, but that doesn't seem to be the case for me. Do you have any advice?

[@garys2187]

I really like the way that you explain each step and working the formula from the inside out. It helps me to understand what is really going on.

[@17aig]

What can I say that has not been said already you opened my eyes to so many options, explaining with so much clarity!! and solutions thanks a million

[@taypaddy]

Miss Leila, you're just making our jobs so easy. I ca'n't thank you enough,

[@LeilaGharani]

It's my pleasure! :)

[@warrenanderson412]

Once Again... You answered my pending question when I saw the first Searchable Drop Down List you posted. You Are The Best!!!

[@AhmedMIbrahim]

Leila, you are a magician. I’m in love with Excel for more than 20years but you never failed to impressed me. I’m learning something new every time i watch your great videos. More importantly, while watching i’m smiling from start to end. It is really very entertaining 😂. I wish i can meet you in person one day.

[@LeilaGharani]

Many thanks for the kind words Ahmed. It's great that you're still dedicated to learning.

[@kamilkuczma5264]

Just yesterday evening I tried to figured out how to create multiple-row searchable drop-downs using dynamic arrays. Finally i did it hard way, by using indirect address, multiple columns and manually setting up all data validation for every cell in the range (Was nightmare:P) And today's morning i just found this tutorial...Transpose...PasteSpecial-Validation...Brilliant! I feel so stupid now:) Great guide, just like always!

[@debjitpaul3399]

This is a brilliant video tutorial for beginners like me. Thanks! But as i searched more, i noted that a much simpler way to achieve this from your last video would be to use the concept of "active cell" (CELL("content") formula) in your search formula and write one line of code in vba (application.calculate). I know this says "no vba" tutorial but since its that small a piece of code, you can mention that in such videos so users can choose wisely.

[@golfnutt1969]

Most people avoid VBA, not because of the amount of code, but because it requires your workbook to be macro-enabled. These aren't always safe to share as they can contain malicious code, so many companies will block these. So, just because it is only one line of code, that is too much.

[@didasssendagi9023]

Leila, Thank you for the videos. Having watched your videos for the last three years has improved my excel skills. I appreciate your work. You are indeed a true practicing economist, who define public goods as non-rivalry and excludable. You sharing your knowledge with us doesn't reduce your content level.

[@LeilaGharani]

Wonderful! Thank you for the kind feedback!

[@chopps007]

I actually did this today before seeing this video and came up with the same solution except I made it via Columns as opposed to transposed. That’s a great solution. Something I noticed was that the size of the spreadsheet was huge and a way around this was to set the spilled range to NULL (using an IF statement) unless the corresponding validation list had an entry in it. The difference in size was staggering. I love your videos. Thank you

[@saradanse1505]

Could you paste here your solution?

[@dreudax3294]

I just recently found out about this channel, its excellent, and you are an excellent teacher, it would have helped me a lot if I found it sooner. Your videos are extremely clear, and your delivery method, and production is top notch. Infact I can comfortably follow your videos at 3.3 times with perfectly legible audio, while I cap at 2.5 for most other tutorials. Thank You.

[@jkeithgreen2220]

I have been searching for a resolution to this specific drop down list scenario for a long time. Your videos are great and you do an excellent job explaining and walking through the steps in setting things up. You have always been and remain my "go to" when I have excel questions.Thank you so much.

[@doctoratomic]

I've only recently discovered your channel. Your Searchable Drop Down List video showed up in my recommended list and answered my long-time question if there was a solution without needing to know VBA. At the end of watching, I was asking myself, "But what about creating multiple searchable drop down lists?" Lo and Behold, the KZbin algorithm served up the answer with your follow up video. You are a great instructor, and I look forward to checking out your other videos. You have a new subscriber!

[@LeilaGharani]

That's great! Welcome aboard :)

[@mcd22630]

That is a complicated solution that requires a formula with a number of functions. Thank God you are here to hold us by the hand through the entire process. Love your pronunciation of the word "character". ;-)

[@LeilaGharani]

You are very welcome :)

[@sharonallende690]

Leila, THANK YOU!! You have solved my problems! Love you videos, You process is so easy to follow and understand.

[@teoxengineer]

EXCELent performance…. incredible results and miracle of Excel...Dynamic array functions are useful getting these results. Thanks Leila and Microsoft Excel team 👍✌

[@jasvirsingh9754]

Hi Leila..... Amazing tutorial... thanx for all the wonderful knowledge that I have gained from you......If the reference report!b5 is replaced with function Cell("contents")....this will get value to be searched from the active cell. Now now the dropdown can be copied other cells.....No need to transpose and other steps....

[@jasontan4730]

My data entry form is an Excel table, hence to cater for dynamic data range. I'd suggest to use the INDIRECT(CELL("address")) feature within the SEARCH formula. This eliminate the needs to Transpose data and no need guess total rows needed.

[@analopes9295]

Hi, can you please advise how you used this? I cannot use transpose because my results are over the columns limit.... Thanks 🙂

[@Sergio-uq2nk]

You're really brilliant Ms. Garany for solving this out for all of us. I appreciated

[@cindyfink7096]

I set out looking for this possibility this morning not even knowing what to call it. I found your first video on it, which helped, but needed the feature on multiple rows. Then I found this video and feel so lucky on my timing since you just put this out. Thank you! I will be subscribing and can't wait to check out your other videos.

[@LeilaGharani]

Welcome! Glad the videos helped :)

[@ravenhish]

always Love your video...thx Leia...I Learn more about excel from you everyday...and I found another solution to these by using CELL function...well it has a weakness, but it better than copying the formula for each row...you should look into it...

[@arkietech5823]

Very good explanation. I was looking for something like this. Thank you for many helpful videos. Can you do a video using multiple (about 20/worksheet) searchable drop down lists on 20-30 worksheets and all worksheets using the same master list from sheet 1 in same workbook?

[@manissery1956]

At last I have a solution for my problem. Thank you very much

[@rrdebby]

I'm grateful for this.Thank you Leila.

[@amjadyahia7357]

Brilliant, very good explanation. I was looking for this long time ago, many thanks.🌺🌹

[@mattschoular8844]

Thanks Leila. I have been using your first solution successfully for a couple weeks. This transpise solution gives me more options. In my solution I added a column in my master data table where I used Concat to join 3 separate columns. I then used this new helper column to allow me to search text on first name, last name or company name. My XLOOKIUP could then return company ID. It works well. Thanks for sharing your solutions. Keep up the great work.

[@LeilaGharani]

Fantastic! It's great you could implement it successfully.

[@alisobhi7341]

Great solution without VBA. I enjoyed your uTube trainings.

[@mikemorrione8899]

This is a good technique if the filtered list remains the same size, but as soon as the number of drop downs required increases, you need to add more entries into the filtered list. I do not see a simple way to do this automatically. Any ideas?

[@Manhe10]

Hi Been a big fan of your videos for a couple of months now. This transpose solution is just genius. Have seen other videos but solutions were too complicated. If you ever think about spreadsheet size, mine went from 160 kB to almost 300 kB with your approach, I solved this with an IFERROR wrapping all the transpose function. Only drawback I see is that the drop down doesn't feature a single name unless you type a single letter, it is a minor one for me.

[@shannonpatterson5145]

Wish I'd seen this earlier. I used columns for dv prep which made replicating DV time consuming and prone to breaking. I don't know how I missed the Transpose formula - will help clean up the DV prep 😀 Thank you!!!

[@anandnagarkatti]

Got introduced to so many new functions I was unaware of. Thanks!

[@LeilaGharani]

Happy to help!

[@mixrtraining-accountingfor8885]

I have added new learning because of you Ms Leila. Your excel content is very helpful for my channel EXCEL-ACCOUNTING training. I am excited to learn new excel tricks so I can apply it in my Accounting Tutorial using excel because I want to grow in youtube like you. You have a new subscriber here :)

[@armangroup5355]

Hello dear this is Safiullah Sadiqi from Afghanistan , I always watch your videos and download them

[@armangroup5355]

your videos are very profitable , I really learned excel from your videos , a special thanks from my side for you

[@armangroup5355]

I use data validation in each row of my excel database , I have a sheet for my chart of accounts and one sheet like journal entry , when i record some data and by name of one accounts if I don't remember that name its doesn't allow me to continue , if is available tell me how i can search and find the list of that accent that i enter , means when i enter the first alphabeted of some name its show us like a list and I select the name of I want

[@iscbala]

Thank you Leila for your immediate response. Actually I am having the monthly subscription pack for Office 365 Personal version. Kindly clarify

[@hif99]

Super helpful video. Great Job Leila ! Thank you very much.

[@rahulapawar7202]

Worked like a charm, thank you very very much. Keep those helpful videos coming up.

[@LeilaGharani]

Glad it helped

[@benjagomez4824]

I Love your Tutorials, They made my work to function so Smooth. THANKS A LOT !!!!

[@LeilaGharani]

Great to hear!

[@ituryu]

Thank you for this insightful and useful video, it was a solution that I have been searching for, but the only issue I am encountering now is the inability to have this replicated as a copy and paste in multiple sheets in the same workbook !!!

[@vida1719]

What a wonderful logic in this solution! I wish we had an inbuilt Search feature in Excel, so it doesn't require data preparation tables

[@miriamhodorkovsky5629]

Leila, you are a genius. Love your videos. Thank you so much.

[@ryanmiguelsantiago]

As always, thank you Leila! Transposing the filter spill is a great idea! thanks

[@LeilaGharani]

You're so welcome!

[@Excelambda]

Very instructive !! I have tried a different approach and works , replace in the data val prep formula B5 with INDIRECT(CELL("address")), no need of transpose or anything.

[@anjaogper8907]

How does the full formula look then?

[@vigneshvicky5595]

can you elaborate please...

[@D6uzman6]

What do you mean?

[@Excelambda]

@@D6uzman6 Sorry!!My bad! Did not explained detailed enough previous post. More people were asking how it works. On "MasterData" worksheet formula in cell D2 should be: =SORT(FILTER(TableCustomer[Customer],ISNUMBER(SEARCH(INDIRECT(CELL("address")),TableCustomer[Customer])),"not found")) It´s the same Leila's formula without the TRANSPOSE , and instead of reference "Report!B5" we put this INDIRECT(CELL("address")). What does this? the CELL("address") returns the address of the current cell wherever the cursor is in our workbook at ANY time, and INDIRECT returns whatever we type in that cell. Magic! Now on "Report" worksheet all the cells from B5 to B19 should have as Data Validation the same formula =MasterData!$D$2#. You can modify it first only in cell B5 , then select B5, right click, copy , select range B6:B19, right click , Paste Special, choose Validation, OK. Hope that this explains everything.

[@Excelambda]

@@anjaogper8907 sorry for replying late. somehow missed the notification. Please check beneath the answer.

[@Brushoi]

Thanks a lot!!! Exactly what I was looking for! By the way, Leila, how would you be able to create multiple dependent dropdown lists for many rows like that?

[@kandathumkettathumm]

Hai Leila, I saw another method to create a simple searchable drop down list. Just create a pivot table with values in the filter section only. This will act as a searchable drop down list with zero duplicates. This cell can also be referred for formulas.

[@raymondmoy1973]

Hi, can you show me a video about this? Interested

[@mariostudio7]

Excel has become really efficient since 2018! Very fast improvement!

[@LeilaGharani]

That's true. Dynamic Arrays was a big step in the right direction.

[@jamiladdas]

Thank you so much .. Amazing demonstration and very easy to apply .. Saved me from a lot of headache.

[@LeilaGharani]

You are welcome!

[@reneeroy-independentscents5223]

lol i am here because i watched your other video and need to do the search in multiple rows! THANK YOU!! :)

[@LeilaGharani]

You're very welcome!!

[@LastCall6am]

I used a trick I saw in another video to link the helper table to the current cell being used. By using CELL(“address”) inside the indirect function to replace the “find text” cell reference in the formula. It’s still has a bug though; you have to click into the cell to reset the helper table. Hope this helps. =FILTER(Table[data],ISNUMBER(SEARCH(INDIRECT(CELL("address")),Table[data])),"Not Found")

[@analopes9295]

Hi, can you please advise how you used this? I cannot use transpose because my results are over the columns limit.... Thanks 🙂

[@joehegedus3229]

Wow, been looking for this (and trying to do it on my own - got close). I followed your instructions and it works great. Is there a way to when you start typing that the dropdown list appears (maybe after 2 letters?) and as you continue to type the list gets less and less? Thanks much for sharing this video and let me know about my question. Meanwhile I will try something on my own. Thanks again.

[@samanthadaroga4811]

This was so helpful! Thank you kindly.

[@joannelee4453]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for this great video. You're my excel guru!

[@LeilaGharani]

Glad it was helpful Joanne!

[@claudemouaya5639]

You....I send you so much love from Cameroon... appreciate what you're doing

[@yaxmokwa7612]

Liking in advance. Will watch later in the evening. Thank you Leila, always.

[@chrisweeks2602]

nice methodical explanation. Very easy to follow. Thanks!

[@arumihehe]

Hi, Leila. Thanks a lot for this video. If I may ask, can you make a video about 3 Dependent Dropdown List that I can apply to multiple rows.

[@Kingco245]

Thanks for all the helpful videos; I have gained a lot of useful insight from your channel that helps me interact better with Excel. Sorry if my question below is out of context: what areas of Excel do you think I need to know/master to be ready for a Data Entry role? I'm trying to start a new career in Data Entry

[@amateurhour-solderingelect345]

Thank you for this video! Very useful for something I'm working on for work.

[@paramveerssachdeva]

Honestly excel is a nightmare when it comes to taking out complicated results, a simple thing like a searchable drop down list is a nightmare to create and one has to use endless techniques. I’ve been using these basic features and much much much more complicated features in a program called FILEMAKER since over 10 years, that program scripts all these steps for you on its own with very very little steps. Apple really does wonders. And FileMaker talks to excel as well. Sadly I’m using excel as well due to some clients etc not budging from their old ways. Your teaching skills are 10/10 and I’m an absolute fan and subscriber of your multiple courses. Thanks for teaching us in such an organised style.

[@ricos1497]

Filemaker isn't really comparable to Excel though. You'd probably compare it to something like Access. Excel isn't meant to have the functions that Filemaker has, although I do agree that drop-downs could/should be more programmable

[@LeilaGharani]

Thanks for your feedback Paramveer. It's good to see you on KZbin too! I wish searchable lists were also easier in Excel. It would be great to get an option in data validation on whether we'd like it to be searchable and also if we'd like to have multiple results in the same cell split with a delimiter of our choice.

[@paramveerssachdeva]

@@LeilaGharani Regards

[@paramveerssachdeva]

@@ricos1497 Sir, I agree with you, but FILEMAKER is cross platform and multiuser. I junked SAP, as the implementation costs were recurring and high. Since I was already into the MAC Environment. I trusted Apple, I bought Filemaker, bought online tutorials, i implemented my own version of an ERP, since I know my business well, I was able to formulate and organise my requirements in the best way, No implementation costs, DEBUGGING is a pleasure and super easy, Much more effective, And best part is FILEMAKER is very forgiving. Even when i made mistakes in the structure of the database, I can make changes easily. Anyway, I saved a lot of money, by switching to Filemaker, and with that money bought myself a Mercedes, And I lived happily ever after.(Based on a true story)

[@paramveerssachdeva]

@@LeilaGharani Honestly, Ive bought a lot of EXCEL tutorials, YOURS are by far the best, Very Systematic, Easy to Understand, Extremely well structured and Explained. Im glad & lucky to be your student. Keep up the great work.

[@samsimkins5981]

Fantastic! I had tried using the cut and paste special to transpose, but that doesn't solve the issue. I didn't even think of transposing the spilled range! Well done and thank you.

[@tnex]

You are the best 😘😘😘. Exactly what I have been looking for. You just gave me a good night rest.

[@danielepernia2823]

Thanks Leila , I learned a lot with your video, Now I'm cracking this thing

[@deepakmirchandani1348]

thanks a lot ma'm for the solution , of this problem i was looking for a long time. great

[@Chamchijjige]

Thankyou very much for sharing and teaching.

[@LeilaGharani]

You are very welcome

[@patricia294]

This is just perfect and worked marvellously! Thanks for sharing!!

[@HusseinKorish]

Leila ... this is an amazing technique ... thank you very much ... i learned alot today just from one video

[@LeilaGharani]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rhemersmusicchannel6460]

Very informative... but i dont know where to use it first... thanks for sharing ur knowledge as always

[@alexandrevanhuysse6675]

Amazing!! Can't express my appreciation for this video!

[@LeilaGharani]

Glad you liked it!

[@AhmedHassansaad]

The best Excel experience as always Chapeau Leila, really great work as always

[@LeilaGharani]

Thank you! 😃

[@wayneedmondson1065]

Hi Leila.. cool solution. Thanks for sharing it. I was intrigued to see if I could duplicate it without dynamic array functions. Came up with this: On your MasterData sheet in cell D2: =IFERROR(INDEX(TableCustomer[Customer],AGGREGATE(15,6,(1/ISNUMBER(SEARCH(Report!$B5,TableCustomer[Customer])))*(ROW(TableCustomer[Customer])-ROW($A$2)+1),COLUMNS($D2:D2)))," "). Copy this down to row 32 and right to column AH. With the cell pointer in cell B5 on the Report worksheet, create a named range (I called mine myDropData) with the following formula: =MasterData!$D2:INDEX(MasterData!$D2:$AH2,COUNTIF(MasterData!$D2:$AH2,""&" ")). Then define Data Validation for B5:B19 on the Report worksheet as: List and =myDropData and turn off the error alert for invalid data. Also, for C5 enter: IFERROR(INDEX(TableCustomer[Company],MATCH(Report!B5,TableCustomer[Customer],0)),"") and copy down to C19 to match the selected name with the company or a blank if no match. The above pretty much works like yours, except that the drop list data is not sorted.. although you can sort it at the data table level to achieve the same. If there is no match to what you type in the data validation cells in B5:B19, you get a drop down with nothing in it (all the " " blank spaces from IFERROR). Otherwise, it has the same functionality.. although more difficult to set up without dynamic array functions. Anyway, I love your technique and it was a great inspiration to create something for those without DAFs. Thanks for all the good learning at your channel and thumbs up!!

[@vncmra]

The best, thank you

[@richardcorel2471]

Thank you for this video. Very well explained and very useful.

[@jayeshhbraaval7041]

Very useful information. You are the best....

[@KomatiSampath]

thank you so much, i was looking for this formal

[@troneng16]

Haha, I came up with the exact same solution! Was hoping for an alternate method, Now I've got a problem where multiple sheets exist so I will have to create multiple preparation lists for now. If you do come up with another way to do it, please make another video! :D

[@MrCoolphoenix]

Thanks a lot Leila! That is a very informative video as usual. I have learnt a lot from your Udemy courses. Is there any method to make dynamic searchable lists from source in multiple sheets using INDIRECT in Data Validation? I tried using INDIRECT with # inside brackets, but it doesn't work.

[@mounirbelazi8071]

Dear Leila, first of all I would like to thank you for the great work. Your videos are fantastic. The current solution works very well but I'm wondering what I can do to keep the file size reasonable when I would like to use this solution for 1k to 5k rows? Many thanks Mounir

[@xnoztm]

Have the same question. waiting for someone to response this. Maybe we’ll find other method

[@YouRQ7XL]

yeah 1k row give me 100MB xlsx so no usable unfortunately :(

[@martinjudd952]

@@YouRQ7XL See the answer above where they used an =IF($B5="","", Transpose(Sort(Filter(Search....... ) Seems like a quick solution.

[@abdullahalshafie6194]

Thanks so much Leila you are very helpful and self challenging

[@stephanegeorgiev6082]

it works and it's great But there is a problem, I have much longer list than yours and my excel file become very very slow, suppose it's because of lots of calculation steps. Did you find another way to multiply the SEARCHABLE Drop-Down list or this is the latest idea you had ? thank you

[@maribeljavier598]

Hi Miss Leila, thank you for this technique. I already use and it works. It's just that it's not working if I protect sheet. I uncheck the cells but the arrow is still not clickable. Do you have solution for this? Thank you so much

[@joehegedus3229]

Question/suggestion... Is there a way to, when you start typing, that the dropdown list appears (maybe after 2 letters?) and as you continue to type the list gets less and less entries (only one matching typed letters)?

[@mehranmehri]

You need some VBA code to handle this! Without VBA I have no idea!

[@ekawibisana2828]

You might want to try this if you have fewer data. Let's say less than a hundred first please watch this trick: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoeoq3uYma2ZZ7s second, create your list and then hide them you will see the sugestion / autocomplete based on what you are typing

[@wesleylim3871]

You inspired me a lot. Because of you I was able to gret the job title that I want. 😍

[@LeilaGharani]

Wow, that's great. Congratulations!

[@rauldelgado220]

THANK YOU Leila! you are incredible smart!

[@The1ShyButterfly]

Fantastic video and solution!!! My question is, how can I incorporate this for use in a Userform combobox or list? My other query is, (in a userform), how can it be set up so if an entry doesn't match, that the user can ADD a new entry. For example: the user is looking for a company but it's not in the list, how can the user ADD a new company to the data range from within the userform? I think a lot of peoole would find it very useful ... I've searched the web but haven't found a proper solution for use in a userform. I love your videos, easy to understand, practical and beautifully presented - thank you for the time and effort you put into your lessons and making them available freely. BRILLIANT WORK ☺

[@julianajusthova6258]

Hello Leila, thank you a lot for all videos you are doing! I would like to also know if is possible to make searchable dependent dropdown list. Thank you a lot for help :)

[@mrpage221]

Great video as usual. Thank you so much for making these videos. I've been a fan for a couple of years now and have even taken several of your classes.

[@LeilaGharani]

Great to hear Mark! Thanks for your ongoing support.

[@vitietajonera4159]

Thanks Leila for this great solution!

[@mittenwald3679]

for loong input columns , just retrun last cell ( cour current input) and feed it into your data validation prep formula...

[@mohammedabuel-gheet7987]

Leila, you are amazing as usual.

[@sonchck6039]

SUCH A LIFE SAVER

[@RangithVithanage-tk7bq]

Excellent presentation

[@LeilaGharani]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@mattkennedy8603]

Thanks this is great! Any way to apply this to an Excel Table with an undefined # of rows? I am struggle to understand how to scale the solution as the table grows. Seems like we have to drag the formula down when a new row is added.

[@alialjamri6707]

very nice👍, thanks for sharing

[@LeilaGharani]

Thanks for visiting

[@SangNguyen-bw8vh]

Thanks a lot! Exactly what I was looking for

[@robinhuijbregts6011]

Dear Leila, would there be a way to make a searchable dependable drop-down list. I've got 20 column's and 2000 rows of nutrition data. I've been experimenting but can't seem to figure it out, maybe other people also have this problem

[@deniscore000]

Always great content, thanks, but I am missing basic Excel features as how do you expand the search results to the entire D1 column when closing bracket/pressing enter at around 2:43 minutes of the video? Mine is not working like that. Thanks

[@souzamotasacul]

That’s a spill formula, it goes automatically

[@lizerall8016]

Thank you for this, helps me a lot. How do I add this to a second column in the same worksheet using the same master data info?

[@AhmedAkili]

WoW, really great idea, thank you so much, it's so helpful

[@555VEL]

Nice approach. Thank you so much.

[@abnambro1000]

Thanks for your tutorial they are very helpful, other option would also be to apply Search ( INDIRECT(CELL ("address")), etc... then in name range then copy in the cell validation wherever you want and voila ( c'est plus rapide) ou ajouter un peu de VBA (no need to transpose).

[@vigneshvicky5595]

can you elaborate please...

[@ruthnielsen7387]

Fantastic. Thank you so very much.

[@LeilaGharani]

Most welcome, Ruth!