Skip to main content

How to autocomplete when typing in Excel drop down list?

For a data validation drop-down list with many items, you need to scroll up and down in the list to find the one you need or type the whole word into the list box correctly. Is there any way to make the drop-down list auto-complete when typing the corresponding characters? This would help people work more efficiently in worksheets with drop-down lists in cells. This tutorial provides two methods to help you achieve it.

Make drop down lists autocomplete with VBA code
Easily make drop-down lists autocomplete in 2 seconds

More tutorials for drop down list...


Make drop down lists autocomplete with VBA code

Please do as follows to make a drop down list autocomplete after typing corresponding letters in the cell.

Firstly, you need to insert a combo box into the worksheet and change its properties.
  1. Open the worksheet that contains the drop down list cells you want to make them autocomplete.
  2. Before inserting a Combo box, you need to add the Developer tab to the Excel ribbon. If the Developer tab is showing on your ribbon, shift to step 3. Otherwise, do as follows to get the Develper tab show up in the ribbon: Click File > Options to open the Options window. In this Excel Options window, click Customize Ribbon in the left pane, check the Developer box, and then click the OK button. See screenshot:
  3. Click Developer > Insert > Combo Box (ActiveX Control).
  4. Draw a combo box in current worksheet. Right click it and then select Properties from the right-clicking menu.
  5. In the Properties dialog box, please replace the original text in the (Name) field with TempCombo.
  6. Turn off the Design Mode by clicking Developer > Design Mode.
Then, apply the below VBA code
  1. Right click on current sheet tab and click View Code from the context menu. See screenshot:
  2. In the opening Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, please copy and paste the below VBA code into the worksheet’s Code window.
    VBA code: Autocomplete when typing in drop down list
    Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
    'Update by Extendoffice: 2020/01/16
        Dim xCombox As OLEObject
        Dim xStr As String
        Dim xWs As Worksheet
        Dim xArr
        
        Set xWs = Application.ActiveSheet
        On Error Resume Next
        Set xCombox = xWs.OLEObjects("TempCombo")
        With xCombox
            .ListFillRange = ""
            .LinkedCell = ""
            .Visible = False
        End With
        If Target.Validation.Type = 3 Then
            Target.Validation.InCellDropdown = False
            Cancel = True
            xStr = Target.Validation.Formula1
            xStr = Right(xStr, Len(xStr) - 1)
            If xStr = "" Then Exit Sub
            With xCombox
                .Visible = True
                .Left = Target.Left
                .Top = Target.Top
                .Width = Target.Width + 5
                .Height = Target.Height + 5
                .ListFillRange = xStr
                If .ListFillRange = "" Then
                    xArr = Split(xStr, ",")
                    Me.TempCombo.List = xArr
                End If
                .LinkedCell = Target.Address
            End With
            xCombox.Activate
            Me.TempCombo.DropDown
        End If
    End Sub
    Private Sub TempCombo_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, ByVal Shift As Integer)
        Select Case KeyCode
            Case 9
                Application.ActiveCell.Offset(0, 1).Activate
            Case 13
                Application.ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Activate
        End Select
    End Sub
  3. Press Alt + Q keys simultaneously to close the Microsoft Visual Basic Applications window.

From now on, when click on a drop down list cell, the drop down list will prompt automatically. You can start to type in the letter to make the corresponding item complete automatically in selected cell. See screenshot:

Note: This code does not work for merged cells.

Easily make drop-down list autocomplete in 2 seconds

For most Excel users, the above VBA method is hard to master. But with the Searchable Drop-down List feature of Kutools for Excel, you can easily enable autocomplete for data validation drop-down lists in a specified range in just 2 seconds. What’s more, this feature is available for all Excel versions.

Tip: Before applying this tool, please install Kutools for Excel firstly. Go to free download now.

  1. To enable autocomplete in your dropdown lists, first select the range with the dropdowns. Then, navigate to the Kutools tab, choose Drop-down List > Make Drop-down List Searchable, Auto-popup.
  2. In the Make the Drop-down List Searchable dialog box, click the OK button to save the setting.
Result

Once the configuration is complete, clicking on a drop-down list cell within the specified range will bring up a list box. When entering characters, as long as one item matches exactly, the entire word is immediately highlighted in the list box and can be populated into the drop-down list cell simply by pressing the Enter key.

Note: To apply this feature, please download and install Kutools for Excel first. Or you can click to know more about this feature.

Related articles:

How to create drop down list with multiple checkboxes in Excel?
Many Excel users tend to create drop down list with multiple checkboxes in order to select multiple items from the list per time. Actually, you can’t create a list with multiple checkboxes with Data Validation. In this tutorial, we are going to show you two methods to create drop down list with multiple checkboxes in Excel. This tutorial provides the method to solve the problem.

Create drop down list from another workbook in Excel
It is quite easy to create a data validation drop down list among worksheets within a workbook. But if the list data you need for the data validation locates in another workbook, what would you do? In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a drop fown list from another workbook in Excel in details.

Create a searchable drop down list in Excel
For a drop down list with numerous values, finding a proper one is not an easy work. Previously we have introduced a method of auto completing drop down list when enter the first letter into the drop down box. Besides the autocomplete function, you can also make the drop down list searchable for enhancing the working efficiency in finding proper values in the drop down list. For making drop down list searchable, try the method in this tutorial.

Auto populate other cells when selecting values in Excel drop down list
Let’s say you have created a drop down list based on the values in cell range B8:B14. When you selecting any value in the drop down list, you want the corresponding values in cell range C8:C14 be automatically populated in a selected cell. For solving the problem, the methods in this tutorial will do you a favor.

More tutorials for drop down list...

Best Office Productivity Tools

🤖 Kutools AI Aide: Revolutionize data analysis based on: Intelligent Execution   |  Generate Code  |  Create Custom Formulas  |  Analyze Data and Generate Charts  |  Invoke Kutools Functions
Popular Features: Find, Highlight or Identify Duplicates   |  Delete Blank Rows   |  Combine Columns or Cells without Losing Data   |   Round without Formula ...
Super Lookup: Multiple Criteria VLookup    Multiple Value VLookup  |   VLookup Across Multiple Sheets   |   Fuzzy Lookup ....
Advanced Drop-down List: Quickly Create Drop Down List   |  Dependent Drop Down List   |  Multi-select Drop Down List ....
Column Manager: Add a Specific Number of Columns  |  Move Columns  |  Toggle Visibility Status of Hidden Columns  |  Compare Ranges & Columns ...
Featured Features: Grid Focus   |  Design View   |   Big Formula Bar    Workbook & Sheet Manager   |  Resource Library (Auto Text)   |  Date Picker   |  Combine Worksheets   |  Encrypt/Decrypt Cells    Send Emails by List   |  Super Filter   |   Special Filter (filter bold/italic/strikethrough...) ...
Top 15 Toolsets12 Text Tools (Add Text, Remove Characters, ...)   |   50+ Chart Types (Gantt Chart, ...)   |   40+ Practical Formulas (Calculate age based on birthday, ...)   |   19 Insertion Tools (Insert QR Code, Insert Picture from Path, ...)   |   12 Conversion Tools (Numbers to Words, Currency Conversion, ...)   |   7 Merge & Split Tools (Advanced Combine Rows, Split Cells, ...)   |   ... and more

Supercharge Your Excel Skills with Kutools for Excel, and Experience Efficiency Like Never Before. Kutools for Excel Offers Over 300 Advanced Features to Boost Productivity and Save Time.  Click Here to Get The Feature You Need The Most...

Description


Office Tab Brings Tabbed interface to Office, and Make Your Work Much Easier

  • Enable tabbed editing and reading in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Visio and Project.
  • Open and create multiple documents in new tabs of the same window, rather than in new windows.
  • Increases your productivity by 50%, and reduces hundreds of mouse clicks for you every day!
Comments (325)
No ratings yet. Be the first to rate!
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, many thanks for this material. It helped a lot.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello,

following on from my last comment:

I'm setting up 'standard' rows with the dropdown lists in them. These I'm wanting to copy below into an extensive spreadsheet.
Unfortunately the dropdown's don't copy down when I do that after using the VBA.
Is there a way to do whats described above?

Cheers,
Catherine
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Catherine,
The autocomplete drop-down lists generated by VBA code cannot be copied. You can only copy selected items that are displayed in the drop-down cell. Sorry for the inconvenience.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello,

Have implemented this successfully, so thank you for this page and code.
But now I have an associated problem...:

After doing all of the above points, the code works as described, but I cannot do any undo/redo actions in the entire spreadsheet.
Is there a way to turn this combo box on for when I want to work with the dropdowns and off for when I want to work in other cells? so that the undo/redo actions are possible again?
and note, yes I have turned the design mode off after doing the above steps, but it still doesn't help the problem.

Cheers,
Catherine
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Catherine Foley,
If you want to use the undo operation on cells other than the drop-down cells, the following VBA code can help you. Please give it a try.
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
'Update by Extendoffice: 2022/09/22
    Dim xCombox As OLEObject
    Dim xStr As String
    Dim xWs As Worksheet
    Dim xArr
    
    On Error Resume Next

    Set xWs = Application.ActiveSheet
    
    Set xCombox = xWs.OLEObjects("TempCombo")
    If Target.Validation.Type <> 3 Then
        If xCombox.Visible Then
            xCombox.Visible = False
        End If
        Exit Sub
    End If
    
    With xCombox
        .ListFillRange = ""
        .LinkedCell = ""
'        .Visible = False
    End With

    Target.Validation.InCellDropdown = False
    Cancel = True
    xStr = Target.Validation.Formula1
    xStr = Right(xStr, Len(xStr) - 1)
    If xStr = "" Then Exit Sub
    With xCombox
        .Visible = True
        .Left = Target.Left
        .Top = Target.Top
        .Width = Target.Width + 5
        .Height = Target.Height + 5
        .ListFillRange = xStr
        If .ListFillRange = "" Then
            xArr = Split(xStr, ",")
            Me.TempCombo.List = xArr
        End If
        .LinkedCell = Target.Address
    End With
    xCombox.Activate
    Me.TempCombo.DropDown

End Sub
Private Sub TempCombo_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, ByVal Shift As Integer)
    Select Case KeyCode
        Case 9
            Application.ActiveCell.Offset(0, 1).Activate
        Case 13
            Application.ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Activate
    End Select
End Sub
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I hope now it will be upload
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
This code works really well for a single drop down. However, if I have 5 dropdowns using the same list of values but they need to operate independently of each other how is that accomplished? Despite my best efforts, if I put more than one combo box on the page, any selection is one is mirrored in the other.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Mbuchmeier,Only need one combo box on the page. The code works on all drop-down lists in current page. You just need to manually click on the drop-down list cell to activate the combo box.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi crystal,
I am working with the combo box (The VBA code from 2021/11/05). It is working great and very useful but there are 2 issues:1. Issue #1: Usually when you work on any cell in Excel, there is indication on the row number which indicate which row you work about. When the combo box is opened this indication is missing2.  Issue #2: When the combo box is opened in the last column of the dynamic table, then it isn't  working as usual: when I select value from the list, the cell remain empty until I move the cursor to another cell
Attached screenshot.
Thank in advance
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Yoni,Thanks for your feedback. For the issues you mentioned:1. Issue #1: Excel does not highlight the row number when selecting an object in the worksheet. Since we use a combo box to replace the data validation drop-down list to handle the autocomplete operation, we can't show the indication in this case;2. Issue #2: I have tried as you described, but the problem cannot be reproduced. The screenshot you attached does not display, you need to save the screenshot and uplode it via the "Upload files" button below.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Crystal,Thanks a lot for your response. Attached the screenshot. hope it will work now
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Yoni,Sorry for the inconvenience. The screenshot you uploaded is still not shown on the page. You need to save the screenshot on your disk in advance and then uplode it via the "Upload files" button. See the attached screenshot.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
will, thank you is not enugh :::: alot of thank you then ;;;;; that worked like magic :)
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Yeah, basically completely useless.  Want the cell to auto-complete when typing in a cell using list data validation.Tried this, and now I have to start over from scratch because I can't Undo it.  Thanks.Also loaded with syntax errors.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
It works as it should be except for two things, first, there is no validation after insertion. i.e. if I typed anything at the combo then clicked enter it will accept the typed value while it should not do this since the data validation is being used to prevent such behaviors and make sure that the entered data is from selected range. Second, at the data validation list, sometimes I use big range with empty cells and select ignore empty at validation list but the combo takes all the range and shows it, will be nice to remove the empty cells from the combo range.
Thanks & hope you can implement these things to make it perfect.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, AhmedThe VBA below helps to solve the problem of blank cells. Since the Combo box accepts the value that are not in the list, we still can't find a way to solve this problem. Sorry for the inconvenience.
<div data-tag="code">Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
'Update by Extendoffice: 2021/11/05
Dim xCombox As OLEObject
Dim xStr As String
Dim xWs As Worksheet
Dim xArr, xArr1
Dim xRg As Range
Dim xSrc As Variant
Dim xI, xJ, xIndex, xCount As Integer

Set xWs = Application.ActiveSheet
On Error Resume Next
Set xCombox = xWs.OLEObjects("TempCombo")
With xCombox
.ListFillRange = ""
.LinkedCell = ""
.Visible = False
End With
If Target.Validation.Type = 3 Then
Target.Validation.InCellDropdown = False
Cancel = True
xStr = Target.Validation.Formula1
xStr = Right(xStr, Len(xStr) - 1)
If xStr = "" Then Exit Sub
Set xRg = Range(xStr)
If xRg Is Nothing Then
xArr1 = Split(xStr, ",")
Else
ReDim xArr1(0 To xRg.Count - 1)
For xI = 0 To xRg.Count - 1
xArr1(xI) = xRg.Item(xI + 1).Value
Next
End If
xI = 0
xCount = UBound(xArr1) + 1
For xJ = 0 To UBound(xArr1)
If Replace(xArr1(xJ), " ", "") = "" Then xCount = xCount - 1
Next
ReDim xArr(0 To xCount - 1)
xIndex = 0
For xJ = 0 To UBound(xArr1)
If Replace(xArr1(xJ), " ", "") <> "" Then
xArr(xIndex) = xArr1(xJ)
xIndex = xIndex + 1
End If
Next
xStr = ""
With xCombox
.Visible = True
.Left = Target.Left
.Top = Target.Top
.Width = Target.Width + 5
.Height = Target.Height + 5
.ListFillRange = xStr
If .ListFillRange = "" Then
'xArr = Split(xStr, ",")
Me.TempCombo.List = xArr
End If
.LinkedCell = Target.Address
End With
xCombox.Activate
Me.TempCombo.DropDown
End If
End Sub
Private Sub TempCombo_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, ByVal Shift As Integer)
Select Case KeyCode
Case 9
Application.ActiveCell.Offset(0, 1).Activate
Case 13
Application.ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Activate
End Select
End Sub
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Crystal,
I am working with the combo box (The VBA code from 2021/11/05). It is working great and so useful! thanks a lot.
I found the source of my problem. There was a line of freeze panes which override the combo box.
The only problem now is that the Undo is not working. Any idea?
Thanks in advanced,
Yoni
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi,
The code does not support Undo. Sorry for the inconvenience.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Thanks. Maybe do you know why Worksheet_Change event is not firing once I choose value from the combo box?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, could you please doublecheck this code, when I use it instead of the dropdown list appearing, the source for the dropdown appears instead. This is the exact function I want, could you please fix it.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
If you use a named range or something similar, like I have with a table column, it will display the named range name instead of the values in that named range. To get what you want, you need to change the xStr to display the worksheet range of that named range, since the .ListFillRange does not take in named ranges directly. This should accomplish it : dim RangeAddress as String: RangeAddress = Range(YourNamedRange).addressand then make the xStr something like this: xStr = "YourWorksheetNameWithTheNamedRangeInIt!" & RangeAddress (important: add the '!' for the sheet reference)
This will make your xStr look something like: NamedRangeSheet!$A$1:$A$5
xStr = Right(xStr, Len(xStr) - 1)

If .ListFillRange = "" Then
xArr = Split(xStr, ",")
Me.TempCombo.List = xArr
End If

with these adjustments your combobox should display the list values instead of the source
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Syu,Sorry I don't quite understand your description. Can you try to be more specific of it?After applying the VBA code mentioned in the above method, when the cell with the data validation drop-down list is checked, the drop-down list turn into a combo box, and then all the items in the list are listed. 
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
do you have an example file please?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello. The code is very cool. Please make sure that the formula "INDIRECT" is carried out and displayed. It is very necessary
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
The code is not working for a validation list which is created by vba code and the source is a named range
There are no comments posted here yet
Load More
Please leave your comments in English
Posting as Guest
×
Rate this post:
0   Characters
Suggested Locations