Can I make a drop-down menu without cells containing the choices?

[Caeres]

I want to make a drop-down menu without having to reference cells that
contain the information in the menu (because I don't want to have to devote
cells to just a menu, and have to keep track of where and what they are). Is
there a way to do this, like reference a name containing a single column of
cells or something? I tried, but couldn't get it to work. Thanks in advance.

 

[Debra Dalgleish]

You can type a list in the Data Validation dialog box, instead of
refering to a range on the worksheet. There's a limit of 255 characters.

For example,
Select the cells where you want the drop down list
Choose Data>Validation
From the Allow drop down, choose List
In the Source box, type your list, e.g.:
East, West, North, South
Click OK

 

[T. Valko]

You can simply enter the items using a comma delimiter directly into the
data validation user form but when done like this you're limited to 255
characters. Like this:

Tom,Sue,Bill,Pam,Linda

You can also use a named range:

Sheet1!A1:A25 = list of names

Select the range Sheet1!A1:A25

In the name box (that little area directly above the header for column A)
type in a name for the list like, say, MyList then hit enter. Then, as the
source for the data validation list use: =MyList