Google Sheets: Edit Or Delete Drop-down List

With Google Sheets, endless possibilities are available due to its innate variety of features that you can use to make things more convenient. However, with little to no information regarding such features, you’ll end up doing things the hard way. For example, imagine the hassle of retyping a category over and over again.

Nonetheless, thanks to Google Sheets, you can easily set your spreadsheet up into numerous drop-down lists containing the options or categories that you can easily choose and click on. Edit and delete your formerly created drop-down lists with the few steps below. 

1. Visit the Google Sheets website then log into your account.

To begin, open your web browser and navigate to Google Sheets. Afterward, go through all of your existing spreadsheets and select the one with the drop-down list to edit.

2. Select the cells that contain the drop-down list to be modified.

After you’ve opened the spreadsheet, choose which cells have a drop-down list that you want to edit or delete. If you have highlighted the correct cells, they will be highlighted and outlined in blue.

3. Select “Data” from the menu bar then a drop-down menu will appear.

If you’ve already selected the cells, click the “Data” button in the menu bar to bring up a drop-down menu. This menu will contain all of the editing options available for all of the data in your sheet.

4. Choose “Data Validation” from the options.

You must select the option labeled “Data Validation” from the drop-down menu. This should bring up a pop-up window where you can make all of the changes you want to your drop-down list.

5. Change the items next to “Criteria” if you want to edit your drop-down list.

There are two different things you can change in the Criteria section, which are as follows:

Type of Criteria

In the data validation pop-up window, there’s an arrow next to the label “Criteria” that you can click to see all of the available types of criteria for your drop-down list. Choose which of the seven options you want to apply to the selected cells.

Items for the Drop-down List

Aside from the type of criteria, you can also change the items in your initial drop-down list. Type the ones you want to add and delete those you don’t wish to see in the options. 

6. To apply the changes made, click the “Save” button.

If you’re confident in the information you’ve entered, click the “Save” button at the bottom-right of the data validation pop-up window.

7. Click the “Remove validation” button to delete the drop-down list.

When you want to delete the drop-down list rather than edit it, simply click the “Remove validation” button next to the save button. This will immediately remove the drop-down list from the cells you’ve chosen.

Key Takeaways

Editing and deleting your previously created drop-down lists isn’t as complex as it seems to be because by just following the steps mentioned above, you can easily do such tasks. However, you must remember that you are certain of the cells you are editing or deleting, for you’ll never know when it’s already too late for you to undo the efforts you have wasted in editing or deleting the incorrect cells.

The highlighting the cells step is essential since this will determine whether you’ve formatted your spreadsheet correctly.