Control Data Entry in Excel

There's no question that you're better off preventing invalid data from being entered into a spreadsheet (and messing up your calculations) in the first place than finding and correcting the data later on.

In this article we'll look at some of the tools Microsoft Excel provides for preventing data from being entered where it shouldn't be and for limiting the kind of data that can be entered.

As an aside, we'll also explore how you can create a selection list from which users can pick entries. We'll consider two different ways of controlling data entry in Excel, using the program's built-in tools. Cell protection prevents data entry in specified cells, and the Validation tool limits the type of data that can be entered.

Protecting a Worksheet Validating Data at the Entry Point Preventing Duplicate Entries Adding a Selection List Provisos

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Category Posted: General