Speed up data entry and validation with AutoComplete for dropdown lists in Excel for Windows

[Prash Shirolkar]

At Excel, customer focus is at the core of what we do. We appreciate your feedback on adding autocomplete to data validation dropdown lists in Excel for Windows. Your Excel Community votes ensured this was one of the next in line to release after smooth scrolling. Thank you for keeping us honest and we hope this meets your expectations.

Today, we are excited to announce that speeding up data entry and validation with AutoComplete for dropdown lists is now available in Excel for Windows in the Current Channel!

What is AutoComplete for dropdown list?

AutoComplete algorithm for dropdown list matches the string you type in the dropdown list cell with words from items in the dropdown list and then shows only the matching list items. As you type more characters, the dropdown list contracts, and conversely, when you remove characters, it expands. Matching words can be from anywhere in the list item's string – at the start, middle, or end. Also, the dropdown list excludes blank items from the Data Validation dropdown list.

(Photos Courtesy of NASA)

AutoComplete for dropdown list helps speed-up discovery of the right Data Validation values at first attempt, and in turn, reduces time spent scrolling through the dropdown list, dealing with Data Validation errors, or writing complex code to enable it. And includes excluding duplicates from the dropdown list.

Coming soon 

We plan to expand our rollout to Excel Mac and Mobile endpoints next.

Availability and Feedback

AutoComplete for Data Validation drop-down list is available in Current Channel with version 2306, build 16.0.16501.20004 or later. Please keep in mind features are enabled gradually to more and more users over time as we build confidence in the success of a feature working properly. And so, this feature may or may not be enabled on your computer immediately. When you do see it enabled, please try it out! We’d love to hear from you whether this meets your expectations or not. Please send us feedback!

Also, do you have an idea to make Excel better? We'd love to hear about it. Go to the Excel forum in Microsoft Feedback to submit your idea or vote for other ideas. You can also click the Feedback button in Excel and choose "I have a suggestion".

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Thank you!

[John_Davidson]

I would also like to know when this feature is becoming available, I am about to roll out an Excel application and need to know if I have to provide another option, and for how long will it need to be included.

[Runser]

Switched to E3 & now autocomplete doesn't work. What the heck is going on this time & is anyone else having this problem? Is it not available yet in E3 Current channel (even though the option in Advanced is enabled)? Need a hand ASAP--thanks

[Sara Laidlaw]

Drop-down search was announced over a YEAR ago and then crickets.

We are on a E3 license, so that’s interesting to hear that the feature has been available to others. 

[Sergei Baklan]

@Sara Laidlaw , in general subscription doesn't matter, what is important on which channel you are. I guess this functionality is still on Beta and Excel for web.

[Alex Kwitny]

This is frustrating that it's still not out because search engines are flooded with videos of this feature from over 1 year ago and you can imagine your average user is confused WHY it's not working.

I'm an above average user and even I was confused why a much-needed feature over a year old from the Insider Track still hasn't been released. I almost didn't believe it until I found this.

[mtarler]

@Alex Kwitny  have tried using in the online/browser version?

[LeoL550]

Confirming it is available on web version. Any chance to have it available on desktop?? 

What I have is Version 2304 Build 16 0 16327 20200

[Sergei Baklan]

@LeoL550 , I guess that's Current channel. Fuctionality is still for insiders. Version number itself doesn't matter.

[TigerTedd]

Any news on a release date for this for general users? I train Excel, so don't want to switch onto the Beta channel and show students things they can't have. But I've been saying this is in the works for ages, and for students to 'watch this space' but still there's nothing.

Have we got any sense of a timeline? Are we talking months, years, decades?

[Sergei Baklan]

@TigerTedd , I guess nobody knows exact timeline. It all depends on stats and feedback of users on insider channels. Plus available resources to fix bugs appeared on that stage. Could be weeks, could be months.

[kumlin_m]

Thanks @Sergei Baklan - seems you can add year(s) as this thread is "Published Jan 31 2022 09:00 AM"

[Charles_Carrado]

It will be years. But it works in my version web build 16.0.16426.42307

[Sara Laidlaw]

This is absolutely ludicrous.  “Depends on feedback”… 20+ years of users asking to replace click and scroll with search autocomplete in a dropdown. Millions of users and they don’t know?

Daily, we are pushed to Google Sheets, where this works without any special settings. It just works. Getting this to work with online Excel is a chore, if on the right build. I understand that Google started with SAAS while MS is desktop and trying to catch up with the SAAS. Excruciatingly slow. Especially when dealing with clients and customers outside our tenant.  We constantly fall back to Google for ease of use.

Microsoft’s strongest features remain in its desktop products. I can’t design a specific form of mine that only works online. I need the user to be able to also open it in desktop. Type and search should be a basic feature without any thought.

They teased us and then pulled it with NO EXPLANATION. All forums that I can find are ignored by MS staff.

Crickets.

[PendragonProtect]

I randomly had access to this feature, and it was a game changer, however its now stopped working? Is there a way to switch it back on? 

[JPR1980]

My thinking is that there are some files that are needed to be installed in windows for this to function properly. I created a sheet on my home pc that operated flawlessly. When i tried it on my work system, the auto complete function does not work. I then tried it on my personal laptop and the function returns. I do not know what to look for so if someone does maybe thats a path to take

[John_Davidson]

What version of Excel do you have installed on the laptop and home pc?

[PendragonProtect]

Hi John, version 2304 (build 16327.20248) 

[John_Davidson]

Thanks for that, we are on version 2303 build 16.0.16227.20202, I will look into why we aren't on the later version.

Do you have the same version on all the devices?

[PendragonProtect]

@John_Davidson Its a work laptop and only use 1 device. You probably just need to Excel, account and the check for updates? 

[Sergei Baklan]

@John_Davidson , check on which channel you are, build itself is not very important. That's here

I guess functionality for today is available for insider channels and partially (not for all user) on Current channel.

[John_Davidson]

It is a work laptop and is restricted to IT updating the applications, I will see if we can update it to the latest release.

[JPR1980]

@John_Davidson Thats odd. My home machines are on 2303/current channel while my work machine is on 2303 Monthly Enterprise even though they are under the same login/liscends

[PendragonProtect]

@John_Davidson

Its my own business so not restricted. What’s odd, is that I had access to it for about 2 weeks, which is how I found out about it, and then it just disappeared, hence why I posted on here asking questions. 

[Sergei Baklan]

@John_Davidson , work machines are quite often on semi-annual channel. You don't need IT to check if so. To shift from one channel to another - yes, in corporate environment that could be an issue. Depends on your IT and their policies.

[JPR1980]

That makes since. I was assuming since all the machines were under the same login/license that they would be identical. I was thinking that IT had something disabled that was needed for the auto-complete to work. Is there a way to get the newest ver. without IT

[Prash Shirolkar]

The AutoComplete for drop-down lists feature on Excel for Windows was in the process of rolling out to all Current Channel customers. As we roll it out, we also ensure things are working smoothly before we expand our rollout to larger numbers of users. Sometimes, based on user feedback, we find things aren't working as expected. This is rare. That said, we have confirmed one such issue, so we have rolled back (a.k.a. turned off) AutoComplete for drop-down lists for all our Current Channel users.

We apologize for any inconvenience this is causing you. We are working hard to fix the issue as we speak in order to restart rolling out AutoComplete for drop-down lists in Current Channel as soon as we can.

thanx,
Prash

[PendragonProtect]

Hi @Prash Shirolkar

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me and others on here. Its such a great feature and a game changer for our buisness alone, that I was disappointed when it stopped working. Its good to know what’s going on as I thought id done something wrong. 

Appreciate its difficult to give an exact time scale, as to when the issue you’re having will be fixed, however are we looking at a few weeks or a few months?

Kind Regards, Adam. (Pendragon Protect)

[Sara Laidlaw]

Thank you, Prash, for the clarification.

Users have requested Autocomplete for drop-downs for 20+ years.

It was introduced for Excel in January 2022. This is May 2023. Obviously, it is not a priority.

Google Sheets worked on the first day it was released In 2006.

This thread started with an announcement and then went quiet, leaving users confused and frustrated. Did Microsoft announce the roll back and we missed it?

Please tell the powers that be to stop forcing us to use Google. We need to be advocates for Microsoft.

Thank you

[tigerg2002us]

I agree with so many others in this thread. This should have been a feature of Excel years ago. Some time ago it was enabled and then removed. I had already announced to my users that it was finally available. Embarrassingly I can't tell those users when, if ever, it will be available. After hearing of Microsoft's explanation and promise of someday, some are moving on to Google sheets. 

[CSmith1485]

When is this going to be available on the Android app?

[xtyano]

It seems this is available to some instalations on the Current Channel and to others only when on Beta Channels.

I created an important and very useful (for me) Excel file that I shared with 4 people to use it. It has a dropdown list with hundreds of entries. 2 of the PC's had this options and 2 of them did not. Spent 3 days to figure this out. Pathetic.

No reason to trust Excel for consistency.

[PendragonProtect]

Hi All,

Randomly it has started working again for me. Fingers crossed I get to keep it this time, and they don't switch me off again. 

[tigerg2002us]

Now working for me also. Version 2305 (Build 16501.20228 click-to-run)

[Sergei Baklan]

@tigerg2002us , great, thank you for sharing. Hope this channel will be 100% covered soon, if not already.

[xtyano]

@tigerg2002us I activated Beta Channel and it started working.

[Sara Laidlaw]

Good to know that it is back in Beta. My I/T does not allow Beta. Hope we get it soon.

[tigerg2002us]

Sara,

It is working for me in my operational version. I should have said that in my post. My ops version is Version 2305 (Build 16501.20228 click-to-run). 

Steve

[Sara Laidlaw]

Steve, 

Thanks! I just emailed him and he thinks I’m on semi annual something. He said he’ll fix it.

Now, the only thing I have to worry about is giving a client a file, and they don’t have the drop-down. 

Sara

[BunkerUser]

When will this be released to all versions?

[LeoL550]

@tigerg2002us 

If I am not mistaken, the channel is important. At work we are on current channel, still nothing....

[ravencs]

I have a business standard and an enterprise subscription. Both are on 'Current channel'. My business excel has this feature, the enterprise does not. 

Does this make sense?

[mtarler]

@ravencs depends on what you mean by "make sense".  Is it possible, the answer is yes.  During roll out they roll out based on the channel but even within the current channel they will roll it out to a subset of those.  It is unclear how that subset is defined but yes, some with current channel have it and some do not.

[ravencs]

Ofc, however i asked a lot of people with enterprise sub and they do not have this feature, so i don't think it's just a "chance" that you have it or you don't have it.

[Sergei Baklan]

@ravencs , in this case it doesn't matter on which subscription you are. More important on which channel you are. For enterprise subscribers that could be from insiders channels (Beta and Current Preview) to production channels (Current or Monthly Enterprise to Semi-Annual). For my knowledge this functionality, as for today, is definitely shall be on insider channels and partly (not 100% of users) on Current and perhaps Monthly Enterprise channels. If you are on semi-annual channel that's to wait till next year Feb or Jul, depends on which exactly semi-annual you are. And depends on how good will be rollout on previous channels.

[ravencs]

I see, thanks for the explanation @Sergei Baklan.

[Sergei Baklan]

@ravencs , that's only my vision. That will be great if @Prash Shirolkar updates us from time to to time with the status, at least till feature will be GA, i.e. 100% coverage on Current and Monthly Enterprise.

[ravencs]

@Sergei Baklan ,well this fits my situation anyway (or I can imagine that it works this way). I cannot make it work on any enterprise subscription (in our environment), but it's working for me with my business standard subscription, and it doesn't work for my co-worker with the same subscription. The difference is that he got his subscription about 8 months ago, and I got mine 1-2 weeks ago. Our company is, I think, on the Annual Channel (if that means the subscription renews annually).

[Sergei Baklan]

@ravencs , just in case, you may check on which subscription/channel you are under File->Account in opened Excel file. Release notes by channel are here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/current-channel.  Again, don't know for which channels(s) this functionality is deployed and what per cent of users is covered.

[Prash Shirolkar]

AutoComplete for dropdown lists feature is now rolled out to all Excel users in Current Channel starting with version 2306 build 16.0.16501.20004 or later!

When you see it enabled, please try it out! We’d love to hear from you whether this meets your expectations or not. Please send us feedback!

thanx,

Prash 

[g_keramidas]

i have Microsoft® Excel® 2021 MSO (Version 2308 Build 16.0.16731.20052) 64-bit 

and i do not have any of these features, including the autocomplete fro dropdowns