Need help creating drop-down menu in spreadsheet

[sparky]

I'm trying to create a drop-down menu in for a sheet column that would be a simple list to select from. I'm following the Help instructructions which tell you to select the column you want the drop-down feature in, then select Data>Filter>Advanced filter. In this box select the range that would make your list items. I've created the list of items I want in my menu from row 2-9 in another column and enter these as my range. At this point, I get "this range does not contain a valid query" error. I have alpha data and I validated the cells as general and I still get this error. What am I doing wrong? Or more simply, how do I create a drop-down list?

[Jim]

Enter design mode "ON"
Select the Combo Box
Draw your combo box.
Right click it, and select "Control..." from the contextual menu

Select the General tab at the top of the popup window.
Look down the list for the List Entries line.
Enter entries for your list, separating each item with a shift-return.
Click on the Data tab at the top
On the "Linked cell" line, enter the cell that you want to hold whatever you pick from the list.

Let's say your combo box is anchored to A1, and the list contains states names: Alabama, Texas, Georgia, etc. If you put, for example, E5 into that Linked Cell line, whatever state you select will be entered into E5. What I do is put the combo box over the linked cell, so the output is hidden. If that doesn't work well for you, and you want to hide the output but have it available for calculations, just format the linked cell to white text on white background.

You're done. Don't forget to turn off Design Mode.

[jgd]

Thanks for that tip. It's worth adding to the wiki

Jacqueline