Using Symbols in Drop Down Lists
 

Can anyone help me with this simple problem? I would like to create a drop
down list with a "tick" mark and a "x" mark as the available values. These
are symbols from the wingdings font available from insert-symbols menu.

When I originally created the reference cells with the symbols to use as my
source for the drop down list, the symbols appear as characters such as "û"
or "ü" in the actual cell that I implemented as my list box. I tried to then
adjust my list box settings in the data-validation menu by typing in the
actual character code for the symbol in the source box; For example, by
pressing alt+252 which is the character code for the tick mark that I want to
use. This still did not show the tick mark.

Is there any functionality within Excel that would allow me to use symbols
for a drop down list?

Answer: Using Symbols in Drop Down Lists
 

Yes, you can definitely use symbols in a drop down list in Excel. Here's how you can do it:

1. First, select the cell where you want to create the drop down list.
2. Go to the Data tab in the ribbon and click on Data Validation.
3. In the Data Validation dialog box, select List from the Allow drop down menu.
4. In the Source field, type in the character code for the symbol you want to use. For example, if you want to use the tick mark symbol, type in "=CHAR(252)" (without the quotes).
5. Click OK to close the dialog box.
6. Now, when you click on the cell, you should see a drop down list with the tick mark symbol as one of the options.
7. If you want to add more symbols to the list, simply separate them with a comma in the Source field. For example, if you also want to include the X mark symbol, you can type in "=CHAR(251),CHAR(252)" (without the quotes).
8. You can also change the font of the cell to Wingdings (or any other font that contains the symbols you want to use) to make sure the symbols display correctly.

That's it! You should now be able to use symbols in your drop down list. Let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything else I can help you with.

The data validation dropdown uses the Tahoma font, which doesn't have a
check mark character. You could a combo box from the control toolbox,
and change its font.

If you can use programming, you can use a combo box to display the data
validation list, as shown he

http://www.contextures.com/xlDataVal11.html

Sumeet Benawra wrote:
Can anyone help me with this simple problem? I would like to create a drop
down list with a "tick" mark and a "x" mark as the available values. These
are symbols from the wingdings font available from insert-symbols menu.

When I originally created the reference cells with the symbols to use as my
source for the drop down list, the symbols appear as characters such as "û"
or "ü" in the actual cell that I implemented as my list box. I tried to then
adjust my list box settings in the data-validation menu by typing in the
actual character code for the symbol in the source box; For example, by
pressing alt+252 which is the character code for the tick mark that I want to
use. This still did not show the tick mark.

Is there any functionality within Excel that would allow me to use symbols
for a drop down list?


--
Debra Dalgleish
Excel FAQ, Tips & Book List
http://www.contextures.com/tiptech.html

Cheers Debra, that was great help

"Debra Dalgleish" wrote:

The data validation dropdown uses the Tahoma font, which doesn't have a
check mark character. You could a combo box from the control toolbox,
and change its font.

If you can use programming, you can use a combo box to display the data
validation list, as shown he

http://www.contextures.com/xlDataVal11.html

Sumeet Benawra wrote:
Can anyone help me with this simple problem? I would like to create a drop
down list with a "tick" mark and a "x" mark as the available values. These
are symbols from the wingdings font available from insert-symbols menu.

When I originally created the reference cells with the symbols to use as my
source for the drop down list, the symbols appear as characters such as "û"
or "ü" in the actual cell that I implemented as my list box. I tried to then
adjust my list box settings in the data-validation menu by typing in the
actual character code for the symbol in the source box; For example, by
pressing alt+252 which is the character code for the tick mark that I want to
use. This still did not show the tick mark.

Is there any functionality within Excel that would allow me to use symbols
for a drop down list?


--
Debra Dalgleish
Excel FAQ, Tips & Book List
http://www.contextures.com/tiptech.html