I have a range of cells that have a combination of data and null entries,
and would like to use a filtered portion of those cells in the range that
contain data as an input list for a pull-down elsewhere in the workbook

the cells in the range always have (1) of (3) combination of values:
--- "12345_abc..."
--- null
--- "Total_12345_abc..."

I want the pull down list to only show the "12345" portion, and for all of
the entries to be unique

this sequence repeats # times for the length of the range
ex "123_abc", "", "Total_123_abc,
"456_def", "", "Total_456_def,
"789_ghi", "", "Total_789_ghi,
...
so, my pull-down would include: "123", "456", "789"...



....any suggestion on where to start?
thanks in advance,
mark