Data Validation - Is there a way to surpass the 255 characters limit?

Anonymous
2017-01-19T12:21:32+00:00

I had created the below formula, which is used for a drop-down list I am preparing. But when I came to paste it in the data validation box, it turned out that I can't insert more than 255 characters, while mine is 776 characters. Any help?

=IF(C2="Humanities List I",IF(C3="English",ENGL1,IF(C3="Others",_OTH1,IF(C2="Humanities List II",IF(C3="American and Media Studies",AMST2,IF(C3="Arabic and Near Eastern Languages",ARAB2,IF(C3="Architecture",ARCH2,IF(C3="Archeology",AROL2,IF(C3="English",ENGL2,IF(C3="Fine Arts and Art History",FAAH2,IF(C3="History",HIST2,IF(C3="Philosophy",PHIL2,IF(C3="Others",_OTH2,IF(C2="Natural Sciences",IF(C3="Others",OTHNS,IF(C2="Quantitative Thoughts",IF(C3="Others",OTHQT,IF(C2="Social Sciences List I",IF(C3="Others",OTHSS1,IF(C2="Social Sciences List II",IF(C3="Economics",ECON2,IF(C3="Education",EDUC2,IF(C3="Political Studies and Public Administration",PSPA2,IF(C3="Sociology and Media Studies",_SMS2,IF(C3="Others",OTHSS2,INDIRECT(SUBSTITUTE(C3," ","")))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

45 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2017-01-24T21:17:38+00:00

    Sure - now that we have the technique worked out!

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2017-01-24T20:53:49+00:00

    You are very welcome - I hope that you have all your issues worked out.

    You can always post on this thread, if your issue applies to this specific topic. I can't remember everything, but sometimes it comes back quickly enough, and I should notice that you posted a new message.

    Thanks for the invite - I'm not much of a traveler, so this forum is where we will meet again.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2017-01-24T20:47:18+00:00

    Thank you very much again sir I appreciate it a lot. I hope you don't mind if I had any further questions in the future in case I posted them here.

    If you ever make a visit to Lebanon or think of visiting, please do notify me on my email ******@live.com so we can meet!

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2017-01-24T19:14:03+00:00

    To leave the list as Others for display, you could use this for the Data Validation source

    =INDIRECT(IF(C3="Leave Blank",SUBSTITUTE(C2," ",""),IF(C3="Others",SUBSTITUTE(C3&C2," ",""),SUBSTITUTE(C3," ",""))))

    But - all the Others ranges need to be named as Others + what is in C2 (but without spaces), like

    OthersNaturalSciences

    OthersSocialSciencesListII

    And, to hide the row, this modification to my code should work:

    Option Explicit

    Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

        If Target.Address <> "$C$2" Then Exit Sub

        Application.EnableEvents = False

        If Target.Value = "Arabic Communication Skills" Or Target.Value = "English Communication Skills" Or Target.Value = "Writing in Discipline" Then

            Range("C3").Value = "Leave blank"

            Range("C3").EntireRow.Hidden = True

            Range("C4").ClearContents

        Else

            Range("C3").EntireRow.Hidden = False

            Range("C3:C4").ClearContents

        End If

        Application.EnableEvents = True

    End Sub

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2017-01-24T18:22:00+00:00

    That's what I get for trying to upload an update and share at the same time...  sorry about that.

    https://1drv.ms/x/s!AsKdy7Nfg\_Fbgi2DPEfYxHLAdRG1

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments