Part IV: Managing and Analyzing Data
Making suggested entries
The default Style value on the Error Alert tab of the Data Validation dialog box is Stop.
This not only displays a message, but it also prevents the user from completing the entry
of invalid data. There are two other options, Warning and Information, which will allow
the user to enter data. You can also deselect the check box and Excel will not show any
message.
Suppose that you have a field where the user is to enter the name of a fruit. To help the
user, you provide a list of common fruits, but you want the user to be able to enter fruits
that aren’t on the list. The list is merely there to save the user some typing if they need to
enter a common fruit.
To set up this scenario, select List and point to the list of fruits, as shown in Figure 26.10.
Then deselect the Show Error Alert After Invalid Data is Entered check box on the Error
Alert tab. Now the user can select from the list or type in a fruit that’s not on the list. Of
course, you can’t prevent the user from typing in nonsense.
FIGURE 26.10
Data Validation dialog box
