Buzz
If you want to learn how to create a multi-line list within a single cell in Microsoft Excel, this article is for you! Whether you’re looking to make a bulleted list with line breaks, a numbered list, or a dropdown list, the process is simple once you know where the options are. Today, Mytour will guide you through three useful methods to insert any type of list into a cell in Excel.
Steps
Create a Bulleted or Numbered List
Double-click on the cell you want to edit. To create a bulleted or numbered list with each item on a new line within the cell, start by double-clicking the cell where you want to enter the list.
Insert a bullet point (optional). If you want to start each list item with a symbol rather than a number or other character, you can use a shortcut to insert the bullet character. Here's how to do it:
- On Mac: Press Option + 8.
- On Windows:
- If you have a numeric keypad on the side of your keyboard, press and hold the Alt key along with the 7 key.
- If not, go to the Insert menu, select Symbol, enter 2022 into the "Character code" box at the bottom, then click Insert.
- If the bullet doesn’t appear after entering 2022, choose the Wingdings font and use 159 as the character code. Then click Insert to add the bullet point.
Enter the first list item. Don’t press Enter or Return just yet.
- If you want the list to be numbered, start the first item with 1. or 1).
Press Alt+↵ Enter (PC) or Control+⌥ Option+⏎ Return (Mac). A line break will be inserted, allowing you to start the next line within the same cell.
Enter the remaining list items. To continue the list, simply enter the next bullet point on the second line, type the list item, and press the key combination Alt + Enter or Control + Option + Return to create a new line. Once you’re done, click anywhere outside the cell to exit the editing mode.
Paste a list from another application
Create a list in another application. If you want to paste a bulleted list (or any other list type) into a single cell instead of spreading it across multiple cells, this method will show you how to do it. Start by creating the list in an application like Word, TextEdit, or Notepad.
- If you create a bulleted list in Word, the bullets will be copied into the cell after pasting it into Excel. Note: bullets cannot be copied from other applications.
Copy the list. To proceed, simply highlight the list, right-click on the highlighted area, and select Copy.
Double-click the cell where you want to paste the list in Excel. You need to double-click the specific cell before pasting so that the list items appear in the same cell.
Right-click the cell. A context menu will appear.
Click the clipboard icon under the 'Paste Options' menu. This option has a paperclip icon along with a black rectangle. The list will be pasted into the cell you double-clicked. Each item in the list will appear on a separate line within the same cell.
Create a dropdown list
Open the spreadsheet where you want to create a dropdown list. If you want the dropdown to appear when you click on a specific cell, use Excel's data validation tool.
Create a new sheet within the workbook. You can do this by clicking the + icon next to the existing sheets at the bottom of the Excel window. This sheet will be used to enter the items you want to display in the dropdown list.
- After creating the list in the new sheet and adding it to the table, you can proceed to create a dropdown list containing the pre-entered data in any cell.
Enter each list item in a single column. Enter every available choice for the dropdown into individual cells. All the items you enter will appear in the dropdown list.
- If you want to create multiple dropdown lists and use the same sheet to store the list data, you can add a header at the top of the list. For example, if you plan to make a list of cities, you could enter City in the first cell. This header will not appear in the actual dropdown list but is just used to organize the data within the sheet.
Select the entire table (including the header at the top of the list) and press Ctrl+T. The Create Table dialog box will appear.
Select the header option and click OK. If you have added a header to the top of your list, be sure to check the box for "My table has headers". If not, remember to uncheck this option before clicking OK.
- Now, with the list data in a table format, any future changes you make to this table will automatically update the dropdown list.
Sort the list alphabetically. This will help keep your list organized once it's added to your workbook. To do this, simply click the arrow next to the header cell and select Sort A to Z.
Click the cell in the worksheet where you want to add the list. This can be any cell in any worksheet within the workbook.
Type the list name in the cell. This will be the cell where the list appears, so be sure to choose a name that reflects the options within the list. For example, if you’ve created a list of cities, you might enter Cities here.
Click the Data tab and select Data Validation. Ensure that the cell where you want to add the list is selected before proceeding. If you don’t see the Data Validation option in the toolbar, click the option with the two rectangles, green check mark, and red circle with a line through it. This option can be found under "Data Tools". The Data Validation window will open.
Click on the "Allow" dropdown and choose List (List). Additional options will be displayed.
Click the upward arrow in the "Source" field. The Data Validation window will minimize, allowing you to select your list data.
Select the list (excluding the header) and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. Return to the tab containing the list data and drag the cursor over the list items excluding the header. Then, press Enter or Return to add the selection to the "Source" field.
Click OK. The dropdown list will be loaded into the selected cell. To add or remove items from the list, simply make changes to the worksheet containing the data, and the dropdown list in the cell will automatically update.
