Data validation can help you lock down cells so that your custom tools run as expected.Ĭonditional formatting is a tool that can help you color-code your spreadsheets-like if you want to auto-assign a color to a cell based on specific criteria.īuilding on the project tracker example, let’s say you want to remind team members to take action by making anything that’s categorized as “In progress” appear in yellow within your Sheet. This is helpful if you’re trying to protect structured data, like formulas or Apps Scripts you’re running, from a multitude of editors who may be in your Sheet. You can set the option in data validation to 'Reject input' for invalid entries. For example, if you check the box, it could mean “yes” or if you uncheck a box it could mean “no.” Go to Data > Data Validation > and select Checkbox under “criteria.” Choose “Use custom cell values” under the Criteria option and type in the meaning you’d like. Instead of simply adding a checkbox, you can use data validation to automatically mark the checkbox with a value. Go to Data Validation >Īdd custom meanings to checkboxes. This is great if you need to review upcoming work at a glance. You can use the “dates” option in data validation, and combine it with conditional formatting (see instructions below), to set it up so that anything with a certain date-or past a certain date-gets automatically grayed out in your Sheet.

What some folks don’t realize is that data validation can be used for so much more than creating dropdown lists.

Creating a drop down calendar in excel