Quickly select multiple items from drop-down lists in Excel
Kutools for Excel
If you have set data validation (drop-down list) for a cell, you can select one item from the drop-down list only. And if you select an item from the drop-down list again, the item selected later will overwrite the existing one. Is it able to append lately selected items, and make multiple selections from the drop-down list? Yes, the Multi-select Drop-down List feature of Kutools for Excel brings you a choice.
1. Select Kutools > Drop-down List > Multi-select Drop-down List.
2. In the Multi-select Drop-down List dialog, please set the options as below:
1) Set scope:
- Specify range: Only work at the selected ranges of the current sheet.
- Current workbook: Works at the active workbook.
- Current worksheet: Only work at the active sheet.
- Sheet name: Only work at the sheet you specify in the current workbook.
2) Separator: Type the delimiter that you want to separate the items in a cell.
3) Text Direction: Choose to display the multi-items horizontally or vertically in the cell.
4) Enable search: This is optional, if you tick this, the items in the drop-down list will be searchable.
3. Click Ok. The drop-down lists in your specified scope will support selecting multiple items in a cell.
Notes
1. It supports selecting items with shortcuts. When the cursor focuses on the multi-select box, you can use shortcuts to select items as these:
- ↑/↓: Using up arrow ↑ or down arrow ↓ to locate the item you want to add or remove. Or using the page up or page down key to flip over in the drop-down list. If you enable the searchable option, when the cursor is located at the first item, pressing ↑ key will place cursor in the searching box, now you can type characters to search items.
- Esc: Pressing Esc key will hide the multi-select drop-down box and not save the operation at the active cell.
- +/-: Using + or – key to add a located item or remove it from the drop-down list.
- Enter: Pressing Enter key will save the operation at the active cell, then jump to the next below the cell.
- Tab: Pressing Tab key will save the operation at the active cell, then jump to the next cell at the right.
2. If you do not enable searchable option, when you select any item in the drop-down list, type any character, such as “c”, it will auto select the first appeared item which started with the typed character, such as “Candy”.
3. If the searchable option is enabled, the cursor will auto-focus on the multi-select drop-down list box, you can directly use shortcuts to select or add items.
4. No matter whether the searchable option is enabled or not, when you select any item in the drop-down list and type any character on the keyboard, such as “c”, it will auto-select the first appeared item which started with the typed character as “Candy”, beginning with the selected item.
5. If the address of the multi-select drop-down list is changed, the multi-select drop-down list will be disabled. For example, when you apply a multi-select drop-down list, the scope you set is in column B. After settings, you insert a new column between columns A and B, so that the drop-down list is in column C now, now, the multi-select drop-down list is disabled.
6. If the scope you set in the Multi-select Drop-down List dialog is the whole worksheet, when you change the sheet name, the multi-select drop-down list is disabled.
7. At default, it searches case insensitive, and matches any character of the items.
8. If you want to stop selecting multiple items in a cell, please click Kutools > Drop-down List > Clear Advanced Drop-down List to disable it. More details please visit: Clear Advanced Drop-down List.
Demo：Select multiple items from drop-down lists in Excel
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The functionality described above is just one of 300 powerful functions of Kutools for Excel.
Designed for Excel(Office) 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 and Office 365. Free download and use for 60 days.
