you could enter the list above the cells you are typing in the data,
then hide these rows. autocomplete will then do what you want.

wrote:
Dear all,

I wonder how can I type the first letter of a word in a cell which has
data validation on a list of names. For example, the list of data is
"Apple, Banana, Bicycle, Orange...". If I type "b" in the cell, the 1st
word starting with "b" will appear i.e. Banana. Therefore I do not need
to scroll the down the arrow to choose "Banana". Hope someone can give
advice.

Louis