Thread: Excel spreadsheet data input screen

I suppose this falls loosely into the category of computer science.

I am making a spreadsheet to track my diet. It has fields in which data can be entered using a drop-down list from a table of foods. Then the spreadsheet looks up the calories, carbs, etc from the table using the vlookup function.

The problem is that there are too many fields to conveniently view on the screen. Excel has a feature which allows you to make an input screen which has all the fields for one record on one screen. However, the drop down list does not function on that screen.

I suppose I will have to make some kind of macro, unless somebody knows another way of doing it.

Harold,
I am pretty adept at using many of the features of Excel, however I don't entirely follow what you are describing.
First, is this Excel2003, or 2007? If it is the latter I doubt I shall be of any help.Second, what precisely do you mean by a field? To me a field is a Page Field used in construction of a pivot table. Are you meaning a field in the sense applied to flat databases?

Originally Posted by John Galt

Harold,
I am pretty adept at using many of the features of Excel, however I don't entirely follow what you are describing.
First, is this Excel2003, or 2007? If it is the latter I doubt I shall be of any help.Second, what precisely do you mean by a field? To me a field is a Page Field used in construction of a pivot table. Are you meaning a field in the sense applied to flat databases?

It's Excel 2003.

I mean a field as in a database. It's the columns in the spreadsheet. I know, this would be easy in a real database program like Access but I don't have that on my home computer.
This tells how to make a data validation drop down list.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ex...022151033.aspx
This describes how to make a data input form.
http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/ME/mes10p1.html
If one of the fields on this form is designed as a drop down list, it won't work as such in the form.