If you want to restrict the input of a cell in a spreadsheet, you can create dropdown menus using Data Validation.
Create a rule
To create a new validation rule:
- 1
- Select a cell.
- 2
- From the Data toolbar, click Validation and choose Add New Rule to open the Data Validation panel.
- 3
- Enter a name for the new rule in the first text box.
- 4
- Adjust the cells in the second text box if different than the current selection.
- 5
- Choose how to create your dropdown options:
- To use a range of options already in your sheet, choose Range and select the range to reference.
- To create a new list of options within the rule, select List then enter the options you want to appear in the dropdown.
- 6
- Click Save Rule to finish.
Manage rules
To manage existing rules:
- 1
- Click Validation in the toolbar and choose Manage Rules to open the Data Validation panel.
- 2
- Highlight the rule you want to modify and click the arrow to open the menu.
- 3
- Choose to edit the rule, apply it to a selection, or delete the rule.
Remove a rule
To remove a rule or rules from a selection:
- 1
- Highlight the range you want to edit.
- 2
- From the Data toolbar, click Validation and choose Clear Selection to remove all rules applied to the chosen range.
You can remove all validations from the sheet by choosing Clear Entire Sheet from the validation menu.