ExcelBanter - Where is the FAQ? (for dynamic input lists)

Nothing that does exactly what you describe is built in as a turnkey
capability.

An activeX combobox from the Control Toolbox Toolbar has the ability to do
the matching you characters you describe, but then you would have to either
have an entry sheet or dialog (userform). IF you are willing to do that,
then you can add programming to the userform to do what you describe.

XL97: How to Use a UserForm for Entering Data (Q161514)
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=161514

XL2000: How to Use a UserForm for Entering Data (Q213749)
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=213749

http://j-walk.com/ss/excel/tips/tip84.htm

See this tutorial here
http://www.dicks-blog.com/excel/2004...g_userfor.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;829070
How to use Visual Basic for Applications examples to control UserForms in
Microsoft Excel

Here are some other sources of information:

http://www.microsoft.com/ExcelDev/Articles/sxs11pt1.htm
Lesson 11: Creating a Custom Form
Excerpted from MicrosoftR Excel 97 Visual BasicR Step by Step.

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=168067
File Title: Microsoft(R) Visual Basic(R) for Applications Examples for
Controlling UserForms in Microsoft Excel 97
File Name: WE1163.EXE
File Size: 161742 bytes
File Date: 05/08/97
Keywords: kbfile
Description: This Application Note is an introduction to manipulating
UserForms in Microsoft Excel 97. It includes examples and Microsoft Visual
Basic for Applications macros that show you how to take advantage of the
capabilities of UserForms and use each of the ActiveX controls that are
available for UserForms

Peter Aiken Articles:
Part I
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...FormsPartI.asp
Part II
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...ormsPartII.asp

-----------------------------------------------
You also might look at Data=Validation using the list option, but it
doesn't perform quite as you describe.

Debra Dalgleish
http://www.contextures.com/tiptech.html

Look under D for Data Validation pages

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

"Shannon Jacobs" wrote in message
...
Pretty sure this should be a FAQ item, but searches don't show any recent
links to the FAQs. A simple URL might be sufficient, but the Web searches
have been all over the place so far, which mostly suggests that I'm using
the wrong lexicon for Excel searches...

This is actually for a database application, but the original database is
more or less orphaned, and the partial Perl port is too painful, so I'm
exploring whether or not an Excel solution is possible. Well, actually
from
what I've already learned, I'm pretty sure it is possible, but it might be
too ugly... Easier for me to describe it in database terms, but I'll try
to
reword this in spreadsheet terms. (Of course, corrections to appropriate
lingo are appreciated, too.)

There are two large sheet and several smaller sheets. When adding an entry
to the largest sheet, there is a point where it should check some of the
information in the second largest sheet (about 2,000 rows). The
implementation I want would be rather like a combo box. As you enter
letters, it would show you the top candidates from the second sheet, and
if
all of those candidates were eliminated, it would let you add a new row
for
the second sheet.

Not sure if it will help, but in more concrete terms it involves a growing
list (actually a relational database table) of books (currently about
2,500)
and the associated authors or editors (currently about 2,000). Other lists
include things like subjects (about 75?).

So far I've only addressed the input side of it, though there are various
outputs from the database versions of the system. First things first,
however.