Entering Validation Criteria

To specify data validation for a cell or range of cells:

  1. Select the cell or cells you want to apply data validation to

  2. Select Validation from the Data menu

  3. Select Validation Criteria

Using the Allow drop down, select the type of data you want to apply the validation to. Choose a data type and the remaining options in the dialog will change according to the type:

Note that cell references and ranges can be used to set criteria. For example, using a List criteria, you can specify:

Yellow,Red,Blue

Or

A1..A3 (where A1 contains Yellow, A2 contains Red etc)

Another example, set Whole Number and Greater Than and then set =A10 in minimum. Now, whatever value is in A10 will be used when validating the cell input.

 

Normally, blank entries are not allowed when data validation is turned on. Check the Ignore Blanks to override this.