How to insert color coded drop down list in Word table?
Supposing, I have a table in my Word document, and now, I want to insert color coded drop down list in a column of the table. It means when I select one option from the drop down, the cell color becomes red, and when I select another option in the drop down, the cell color becomes green as following screenshot shown. How could you solve this job in Word document?
Insert color coded drop down list in Word document with VBA code
Insert color coded drop down list in Word document with VBA code
The following steps can help you to finish this task as you need, first, insert the drop down list, and then apply the color for the drop down. Please do as this:
1. Select a cell in the table where you want to insert the drop down, and then click Developer > Drop-Down List Content Control icon, see screenshot:
2. The drop down is inserted into the specific cell, and then click Developer > Properties, see screenshot:
3. In the Content Control Properties dialog box, please do the following operations:
(1.) Enter the title name into the Title text box;
(2.) Click Add button go to the Add Choice dialog;
(3.) In the Add Choice dialog, type the drop down list item into the Display Name text box.
4. Repeat the Step 3 to insert other drop down list items as you need.
5. After creating the first drop down list, you can copy and paste it to other cells as you need. See screenshot:
6. Then you should apply a VBA code, please hold down the ALT + F11 keys to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
7. In the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, double click ThisDocument from the Project-Project pane to open the mode, and then copy and paste the following code into the blank module.
VBA code: Insert color coded drop down list into table of a Word document:
Private Sub Document_ContentControlOnExit(ByVal ContentControl As ContentControl, Cancel As Boolean)
With ContentControl.Range
If ContentControl.Title = "Status" Then
Select Case .Text
Case "Complete"
.Cells(1).Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorRed
Case "In Progress"
.Cells(1).Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorGreen
Case "Not Start"
.Cells(1).Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorBlue
Case Else
.Cells(1).Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorAutomatic
End Select
End If
End With
End Sub
Note: In the above code, Status is the title name when you creating the drop down list, and Complete, In Progress, Not Start are the items of the drop down list, you can change them to your own. And you can also change the color to your need.
8. Then save and close the code window, now, when you select one item from the drop down list, its relative color will be filled with the cell, see screenshot:
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