Final Friday Fix: December Challenge

On the final Friday of each month, we’re going to set Excel for you to puzzle over so that you can get your “Excel fix”. Challenge your office colleagues to see who can solve the puzzle quickest. There’s no prizes at this stage, you’re playing for bragging rights only!

In-Cell List: Two Be or Not Two Be?

One of the reasons Excel is so popular is that it is extremely flexible and easy to use. However, sometimes modellers want to restrict the freedom afforded by forcing end users to choose from a limited selection. There are several ways this may be done, but this month’s question considers selecting from a defined list.

The Challenge

This month’s challenge is another one that’s deceptively easy to explain. All you need to do is create an in-cell list that provides only non-blank choices from two columns of data, e.g.

Can you get this working? It’s another of those problems that’s slightly trickier than it first appears. Some restrictions: no VBA or anything that appears on the ‘Developer’ tab on the Ribbon!

Sound easy? Have a go. We’ll publish one solution in Monday’s blog. Have a great weekend!