Excel Drop Downs!!!!!

[Lane101]

Greetings,

I am brand spanking new to this forum and I was looking to get some feedback regarding creating Drop Downs using Data Validation.

Is it possible to create a drop down and have a description of choice the cell hidden?

For example:

1-Monday
2-Tuesday
3-Wednesday
4-Thursday
5-Friday

The only thing I want to display in the cell is the actual number not the description (day), but still be able to see it in the drop down as a choice so you know what the number is equivalent to. Sounds simple enough, but for some reason I just can't find the answer at my finger tips. I was wondering if there was an easy solution to this problem?

Thanks a bunch!

[ben_hensel]

Broadly speaking, there isn't an easy solution to get exactly what you're asking for.

However, if you fill the cells in with numbers {1,2,3,etc} and format the cell to Custom: "dddd", it will display the day-of-the-week (albeit starting from Sunday, not Monday). So the cell would display to the user the day of the week as a word, but it would be assessed as a integer (a date specifically).

Then you could fill that into the dropdown.

More generally, I don't know what you want is a good idea. Displaying one thing over the top of something else actually in the cell is a recipe for confusion when someone else tries to use your spreadsheet (or if you come back after a month away and don't remember what's going on).

[Lane101]

Thank you soooo much for the feedback....

Maybe I gave a poor example using days of the week but it was the simplest thing I could think of at the time.. lol!

But I'll give a more realistic example of what it would be used for (Code numbers that reflect certain fields or duties):

561-Administration
929-Human Resources
342-Marketing
463-Public Affairs

For print out the cell only requires the number, but some/most people might not know the description of those numbers. I was just trying to find a way to possibly have it visible upon the choice selection but still ONLY input the number into the field.

[ben_hensel]

I'd split them into two different cells. The first one is the dropdown for the name, and the second is a table lookup to grab the associated number. Maybe even run the lookup off the same table you grab the dropdown list from.

See attached.