How to Update a Drop Down List in Excel & Google Sheets

This tutorial demonstrates how to update a drop-down list in Excel and Google Sheets.

Update Drop-Down List

If you have a drop-down list in Excel, you can update the list of items easily. Say you have the following drop-down list in cell B2, containing product names.

This drop down is populated from the range A2:A7 in Sheet2.

To add two new items to the drop-down list (Monitor and Speakers), follow these steps:

1. First, add the new items to the source range in Sheet2 (cells A8 and A9).

2. Now, select a cell with the drop-down data validation rule (cell B2) and in the Ribbon, go to Data > Data Validation.

3. In the Data Validation window, you can see that the source of the drop-down list is range A2:A7 from Sheet2. To expand this source, click the arrow next to the range.

4. Select the expanded range (A2:A9), and press ENTER on the keyboard.

5. Now you’re back to the Data Validation window. Click OK to finish.

Now, when you click on the drop down in cell B2, the list includes the newly-added Product items.

Update Drop-Down List in Google Sheets

Say you have the same drop-down list with products in Google Sheets.

1. First, add new items to the range in Sheet2 (here, cells A8 and A9).

2. Select a cell with the drop-down list (A2), and in the Menu, go to Data > Data validation.

3. In the Data validation window, to the right of Criteria, click on the Select data range icon.

4. Select the range with new items (A2:A9, in Sheet2), and click OK.

5. This takes you back to the Data validation window. Click Save to confirm changes.

The result is the same as in Excel: The drop-down list is updated with new items.