Image: Andy Wolber/TechRepublic

A drop-down list helps speed entry and standardize information in a Google Canvass. Select a prison cell, choose an item from the list, and proceed on to your side by side chore. Whether y'all use Google Sheets in a desktop-class spider web browser or in the Google Sheets mobile app on Android or iOS, you lot get the benefit of fast and authentic information entry. To acquire how to add data validation to ane or more cells, see: How to create a drop-downwardly listing in Google Sheets.

Sometimes drop-downwards list options demand to change. For example, you lot might need to add a new production, service, or choice, or you may need to remove an option that is no longer needed. Regardless of what you lot utilize a drib-downwardly listing for–people, places, or things–yous may desire to modify the offered options at various points in time.

Since Google Sheets includes 2 ways to brand a drop-down listing, the method you apply to edit the driblet-downwards options will vary. The post-obit steps embrace how to edit a manually entered listing of information, as well as how to alter a list created from the contents of a range of cells. In either case, you volition first demand to open the Google Canvas, and y'all'll also need to have edit access to the sheet and cells you lot wish to change.

Note: You may edit a drop-downwardly listing either in Google Sheets in a desktop-form web browser or in the Google Sheets app on Android.

SEE: Google Sheets: Tips every user should master (TechRepublic)

How to edit a manually entered drop-down list in Google Sheets

i. Click or tap to select the prison cell or cells with the data validation setting you lot wish to modify.
2. In a spider web browser, cull Data | Data Validation. In the Google Sheets Android app, tap the three vertically-arranged dots menu in the upper-correct, then tap Information Validation.
3. In a web browser, edit the List Of Items in the text box to the correct of the Criteria field (Figure A). Edit the text to add or remove items equally desired, and be sure to split each item by a comma.

Figure A

In a web browser, select a cell or cells, choose Data | Information Validation, then edit the text in the List Of Items field. Select Salvage to utilise your changes.

In the Google Sheets Android app, tap +Add, input text to add an item, and tap the checkmark to the right of the field when done (Figure B). Repeat the process for each item you want to add. To remove an particular, tap on a displayed item, then tap the delete key.

Figure B

In the Google Sheets Android app, select a cell or cells, then tap the three vertically arranged dots (left), select Data Validation (center), and then either edit list items (correct-top) or adapt the list range (right-bottom).

four. When finished with the changes, click or tap Relieve to apply your changes to the selected cells.
five. Click or tap on 1 of the modified cells to view the edited driblet-down listing, and then verify that the edited content displays as you expect.

SEE: Thou Suite: Tips and tricks for business professionals (TechRepublic download)

How to edit content in a drib-downwards list from a range in Google Sheets

1. Go to the section of your Google Sail with the cells that contain the specified range for information validation.
two. Edit the contents of these cells equally necessary to modify the drib-down items displayed (Figure C). Afterwards you lot edit each jail cell, the drib-down data validation list volition automatically display the new data when selected.

Figure C

If your information validation draws content from cells in range, edit the content of the cells in that range to change the options. (This will not change the contents of whatever previously entered information; it will only modify the options displayed for any future edits or entries.)

3. After yous edit the cells, click or tap to view the drop-down listing, and verify that the content displays correctly.

How to adapt the range in Google Sheets

If the number of options you demand to brandish has changed, you volition need to modify the range of cells specified. For case, if the number of items is fewer, decrease the range to avoid showing bare options; or, if the number of items needs to increase, expand the range specified to ensure that all options display.

1. Click (or tap) to select the cell (or cells) with the information validation setting you lot wish to alter.
2. In a web browser, choose Data | Data Validation. In the Google Sheets Android app, tap the iii vertically-bundled dots carte du jour in the upper-right, then tap Data Validation.
3. In the Range field, modify the range to bespeak the canvas and cells that contain your desired drop-down list options (Figure D). For example, if the original range was "Sheet1!I26:I29" y'all might modify that to "Sheet1!I26:I28" to reduce the range by one cell, or to "Sheet1!I26:I30" to increment the range by one prison cell.

Figure D

For information validation fields that rely on content from cells in a range, yous may need to accommodate the range when you change the number of options. For example, to add an option, you would extend the range.

4. Click or tap Save to preserve your adapted range. As e'er, click or tap in the modified cell to check that the alter displays every bit desired.

What's your experience?

Which method do you utilize most often to validate data in Google Canvas: A manually entered listing or a list created from the contents of a range of cells? What blazon of information do yous typically assemble in cells where y'all use drop-downwards options? Let me know, either in the comments below or on Twitter (@awolber).