How do I create a data validation list WITHOUT using cells?

Question

I have a simple data validation dropdown that I'm trying to do, but I DO NOT WANT to use cells to populate my list.

Something similar to what's below, but this obviously isn't working.

enter image description here

What formula do I need to input to create a list of strings in a cell?

datatoo · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-12T00:43:11.483

16

Unless you mean something else, no need to wrap in quotes, or use the "=" sign enter image description here

edited Jul 12 '12 at 00:43

answered Jul 12 '12 at 00:09

datatoo

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Comma-separated values no longer work in newer versions of Excel, apparently. I figured you're supposed to use a semicolon now, like this: `TRUE;FALSE` – emgx Aug 31 '22 at 09:02

score 8 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 12 '12 at 00:09

8

You can put them in as a comma separated list:

true,false
yes,no
2,4,6,8
with space,without

etc.

answered Jul 12 '12 at 00:09

Mike Fitzpatrick

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 22 '19 at 08:00

So for anyone who might have run into this problem, I found the solution (or rather the cause).

I had previously tinkered with the locale parameters of my system and altered the list separator character to semicolon in Control Panel > Clock & Region > Region > Additional Settings. When I used that instead of comma, the dropdown worked. The question is now whether this will continue to work on a system with the standard separator.

How do I create a data validation list WITHOUT using cells?

3 Answers3