Phantom Drop down boxes in excel 2016

Anonymous
2016-01-14T14:47:08+00:00

I use lots of data validation drop down list and recently some phantom boxes have been appearing in my spreadsheets.  You can select the grey arrow but the list is empty.  You then select the cell to get the correct data validation list, which appears to overlay the the box.  Can anyone help?  I created a new spreadsheet from scratch and it appeared to have fixed it but today i opened the spreadsheet and once again i have phantom drop down lists!!!

I removed all the data validation from the cell and it still remained!

Can anyone help?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-01-14T18:02:49+00:00

    Hello Sean,

    Welcome to Microsoft Community and thank you for posting your query.

    Start Excel application in safe mode, create new spreadsheet with data validation and check if it works as expected.

    • Press the ‘Windows + R’ key on the keyboard.
    • In the ‘Run’ window type Excel /safeand press ‘enter’. Note: there is a space between the word Excel and the /

    If Excel works as expected in application safe, then disable the add-in(s) by following the steps below and verify the status.

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Work-with-Office-safe-modes-dedf944a-5f4b-4afb-a453-528af4f7ac72

    If issue persist, try repairing Office suite using the following link and check if data validation in Excel work as expected.

    https://support.office.com/en-US/Article/Repair-an-Office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b

    I hope the above information helps. Let us know if you need further assistance.

    Thank you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-20T09:31:48+00:00

    Hi Parth,

    I have this issue too. 

    I've run through these steps but nothing has helped. I have also checked for updates.

    As Sean mentioned, the phantom dropdown icon is always there, but there is no list when clicked. It overlays the cell where my actual data validation takes place. It even persists if I remove all data validation.

    It seems to be an intermittent problem. In some workbooks it happens for some validated cells but not others. 

    Have you any further thoughts?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-20T18:46:06+00:00

    I've found a work around..always click on a cell that doesn't have data validation then save the file!  It works for me but sometimes i forget to select the cell and wh i reopen spreadsheet i'm back with a phantom drop down list...

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-01-21T10:44:33+00:00

    Thanks Sean. I'll have a go and see what happens...

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-01-26T23:54:56+00:00

    Hello Sean.

    I am from the Excel Desktop team and will assist you in this issue.

    Can you provide some information about your scenario:

    • What is your OS (Win8.1/Win10/etc) (x86 or x64) ?
    • What is your Excel version? (x86 or x64) ?
    • Can you provide a screen shot of the issue?
    • Can you provide a sample workbook exhibiting the issue since I couldn't repro?

    Thanks

    Thao Moua (Excel Desktop)

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