Hi David,

Try this. Sort your names A to Z and then at the beginning of the A's enter
a single A, at the top of the B's enter a single B and do the same for the
rest of the list all the way to the Z's.

In the cell with the Data Validation enter the letter of the list you want
to access, say it is M. DO NOT hit enter, instead leave the data validation
cell, with the letter M, in the edit mode.

Now click the down arrow of the data validation cell and it will take you to
the top of the M list. Scroll from there to your choice.

HTH
Regards,
Howard

"David" wrote in message
...
Hi
I have a data validation drop down referencing a list of approx 300 names-
I
have to choose about 20 names in 20 rows on a spreadsheet- is there a way
of
typing in the first letter and the scrol bar goes down to that point like
a
combo box?--
Thanks for your help