Ensuring the data that users enter into a worksheet conforms to certain standards is difficult, if you have no way of enforcing the rule. With Data Validation you can:
- Provide users with a drop down list of choices (so they can’t input data incorrectly)
- Restrict entries to a specific type or size
In the example below we are going to use Data Validation to ensure that the End Date is always greater than the Start Date.
Applies To: Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010
1. Reference will be made to the screen shot below
2. Select the data range C3:C7
3. From the Data tab, in the Data Tools group,select Data Validation
4. Select as below
5. To enter the input message so that users are aware about the Data Validation rules, enter as per screen shot below
6. To input an Error Alert message enter as below
7. Select OK
If the user enters a date value that is less than the Start Date, an error message will be displayed. Thus the user will forced to enter correct date value.
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