How to display multiple columns in combo box?

The combo box can help us to quickly select the values without typing them, normally, you can create a combo box with one list of data, but, sometimes, you want to display multiple columns in the combo box as following screenshot shown, how could you create combo box with multiple columns in Excel?

Display multiple columns in combo box with combo box properties

Display multiple columns in combo box with VBA code

Display multiple columns in combo box with combo box properties

You can go to the combo box properties to configure the attributes for the combo box, please do as this:

1. Click Developer > Insert > Combo Box (ActiveX Control), and then drag the mouse to draw a combo box as you need, see screenshots:

2. Then click Properties under the Developer tab, in the Properties dialog box, please do the following operations:

(1.) In the ColumnCount text box, enter the number of columns that you want to display, in this example, I will enter 3;

(2.) Beside the LinkedCell text box, enter a cell reference to link the combo box;

(3.) In the ListFillRange text box, type the cell range which you want to use as the source data.

3. After finishing the settings, close the dialog box, and click the Design Mode in the Ribbon to exit the design mode, now, when you click the combo box drop down arrow, multiple columns data will be displayed at once, see screenshot:

Tip: If there is no Developer tab in the ribbon, this article How to show/display developer tab in Excel 2007/2010/2013 Ribbon? may do a favor for you to display Developer tab.

Unlock Excel Magic with Kutools AI

• Smart Execution: Perform cell operations, analyze data, and create charts—all driven by simple commands.
• Custom Formulas: Generate tailored formulas to streamline your workflows.
• VBA Coding: Write and implement VBA code effortlessly.
• Formula Interpretation: Understand complex formulas with ease.
• Text Translation: Break language barriers within your spreadsheets.

Enhance your Excel capabilities with AI-powered tools. Download Now and experience efficiency like never before!

Display multiple columns in combo box with VBA code

Here a VBA code also can help you to finish this task.

1. First, you need to create a range name for your source data, please select the data range, and enter a range name into the Name Box, see screenshot:

2. Then create a combo box, and right click it, then choose View Code from the context menu, see screenshot:

3. And the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window is opened, please copy and paste the following code to replace the original code, see screenshot:

VBA code: Display multiple columns in combo box:

 Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
'Updateby Extendoffice
    With ComboBox1
        .ColumnCount = 3
        .List = Range("Namelist").value
    End With
End Sub

Note: In the above code, the ComboBox1 is the name of your created combo box, the number 3 is the column number that you want to display, “Namelist” is the range name you have created in step1. You can change them to your need.

4. Then press F5 key to run this code, and then click the combo box, the multiple columns are displayed into the combo box as you need.