How to prevent copy and paste over cell with drop down list in Excel?
For a cell with data validation drop down list, when copy content from another cell and paste to it, the drop down list will be gone and replaced with the new pasting content. In some cases, you want to prevent copy and paste other content over the cell with drop down list, what would you do to deal with it? In this article, you will get a VBA method of dealing with this problem.
Prevent copy and paste over cell with drop down list in Excel
Prevent copy and paste over cell with drop down list in Excel
1. Open the worksheet with the drop down list cell you want to prevent copy and paste.
2. Press Alt + F11 keys simultaneously to open the Microsoft Visual Basic Applications window.
3. In the Microsoft Visual Basic Applications window, double click the current worksheet name in the left pane, then copy and paste the below VBA code into the Code editor. See screenshot:
VBA code: Prevent copy and paste over cell with drop down list
Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range) 'Updated by Extendoffice 20200903 Dim xValue As String Dim xCheck1 As String Dim xCheck2 As String Dim xRg As Range Dim xArrCheck1() As String Dim xArrCheck2() As String Dim xArrValue() Dim xCount, xJ As Integer Dim xBol As Boolean ' If Target.Count > 1 Then ' Exit Sub ' End If xCount = Target.Count ReDim xArrCheck1(1 To xCount) ReDim xArrCheck2(1 To xCount) ReDim xArrValue(1 To xCount) Application.EnableEvents = False On Error Resume Next xJ = 1 For Each xRg In Target xArrValue(xJ) = xRg.Value xArrCheck1(xJ) = xRg.Validation.InCellDropdown xJ = xJ + 1 Next Application.Undo xJ = 1 For Each xRg In Target xArrCheck2(xJ) = xRg.Validation.InCellDropdown xJ = xJ + 1 Next xBol = False For xJ = 1 To xCount If xArrCheck2(xJ) <> xArrCheck1(xJ) Then xBol = True Exit For End If Next If xBol Then MsgBox "The selected cells containg data validation drop-down lists, no pasting allowed." Else xJ = 1 For Each xRg In Target xRg.Value = xArrValue(xJ) xJ = xJ + 1 Next End If Application.EnableEvents = True End Sub
4. Press Alt + Q keys to exit the Microsoft Visual Basic Applications window.
5. When you paste content to a cell with drop down list, a dialog box will pop up to remind you the pasting is no allowed. See screenshot:
Note: This VBA just work in single cell pasting. If you copy and paste in multiple cells, it won’t work.
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