How to Create a Dynamic Drop Down List in Alphabetical Order in Excel?

You will be guided step-by-step through the creation of a dependent drop-down list in Google Sheets during this lesson. You will discover how to provide data sources, establish list dependencies, and build a dynamic selection system that adapts to user selections. Let's get started and learn how to use dependent drop-down lists to improve your Google Sheets experience!

You will have a strong grasp of how to design a dynamic drop-down list that changes automatically as new items are added or removed by the end of this course. You will also understand how to alphabetize the list in order to make it more functional and effective. Let's get going and discover the potential of Excel's dynamic and sorted drop-down lists!

Create a Dynamic Drop Down List in Alphabetical Order

Here we will first sort the values, then create a data validation list to complete the task. So let us see a simple process to learn how you can create a dynamic drop-down list in alphabetical order in Excel.

Step 1

Consider an Excel sheet where you have an unsorted list.

First, select the range of cells, then click on formulas and select Define Name. Then enter name as List and enter refers to

=OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1, 0, 0, COUNTA(Sheet1!$A$1:$A$1001)) and click Ok.

Select Cells > Define Name > Ok.

Step 2

Then go to another sheet and enter the formula as

=IF(COUNTA(List)>=ROWS($A$1:A1), INDEX(List, MATCH(SMALL(COUNTIF(List, "<"&List), ROW(A1)), COUNTIF(List, "<"&List), 0)), "") and click Ctrl + Shift + Enter, then drag down using the auto fill handle.

Empty cell > Formula > Enter > Drag.

Step 3

Then select the column containing the values, click on formulas, select Define Name, enter name as SortedValues, and click Ok.

Step 4

Then click on an empty cell and click on Data Validation under Data. Then set Allow List, enter source as =SortedValues, and click Ok.

This is how you can create a dynamic drop-down list in Excel.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have used a simple example to demonstrate how you can create a dynamic drop-down list in alphabetical order in Excel to highlight a particular set of data.