make an excel map

[horton]

So I've been trying to make an excel map and I found this amazingly good one right here.
It looks something like this
\1
One of the main things I liked was the search bar (you can see them at the top) that he incorporated into the map. What it does is allows you to pick a search option from a group of preset searches and then takes all relevant searches and changes the cells of the matches to different colors or patterns.

Does anyone have any idea how to do this? I know a drop down box is simple to make but how can I get the result that this man did on his search box?

Any and all help is appreciated.

[darkyam]

I would imagine that it was accomplished through either a macro (if there are more than three different formats) or through conditional formatting.
We can give you more details on how to apply this to your situation if you'll post a workbook of what you're working on with the results you want.

[ChemistB]

I looked at the map and what he does is use conditional formatting on each square such that if the associated dropdown menu above is the same as the item in that cell, it'll format it accordingly. This is impressive in that it is hugely time consuming and would have to be changed if he decided to move any of the items around. To see his formulas, click on a cell with items in it and then go to Format>Conditional formatting.

ChemistB