Edit drop down list in word

A Word Drop-down list lets you quickly choose one of several options.  It’s a fast way to make new documents with a standardized pattern. Don’t be scared, it’s easy to create even though the word ‘Developer’ is involved.

We’ll show you how to make drop-down lists, change the bland ‘Choose an item.’ default text and how to add other text when the drop-down list doesn’t have what you need.

Drop-down lists can be for anywhere there’s a selection of options.  Choosing a product, department, location.  We’ll stick with the most common use, the honorific ‘Dear ….’ at the start of a letter.

Firstly, you need to ensure that the Developer Tab is enabled. Can’t see the Developer tab? … How to get the Developer Tab in Office apps

Now you can select the Developer Tab | Controls Group | Drop-down List Content Control option

From here, a drop-down box will be added to your document which you can then customize. To customize, select the Properties tab under the Controls group.

Here in the Properties, you can edit the title, box, tag, colour or style for your drop-box.

Show As – Bounding Box is the familiar drop down list.

Start/End tag is more obvious in the edit window.

None – hides the control and shows only the first option.

Color is useful to make the drop down control more obvious in Word.

Style lets you fix how the text will appear when typing into an empty control.

There are also Locking settings such as Content control cannot be deleted, and Contents cannot be edited for your drop box.  Select those as suits your situation.

From there, select the Add button to add your choices for the drop-down list.

Simply type in your choice in the Display Name and select OK, you can type as many options as you’d like.   

Word will automatically make Display Name and Value the same – that’s what you’ll want in most situations.  Display Name is what appears in the editable document and the final printed doc. Value is saved in the document for programmatic retrieval. 

If you need to make any changes… simply click on the Display Name and select Modify, likewise if you need to delete the choice, you can select remove, or move the choices up and down on the list.

In our example, we’ve selected a whole bunch of different English Honorifics.

Now when you select OK and go to your drop-down box, you can easily select your choice from the list.

Once you have made your choice and click outside of the drop-box, the box will disappear until clicked again.

Change ‘Choose an item’ text

The default ‘Choose an item.’ text that appears in the control could do with a change to explain better what each selection is for.

To change that opening text, click on the Design Mode button then that text can be edited and formatted.

Another drop down list example

At the end of a letter template, there could be another drop-down list.

Add something to the list – Go Combo

The Drop Down List control is good for fixed lists which have the only options possible.

More often, there are exceptions which you’ll want to type in specially for each document. 

In our honorifics example, there might be a title missed (Lord High Poobah, Cardinal etc) or you want to make it personal with a first name.

If you want the flexibility to type other text there are two choices:

Allow the drop-down list to be deleted. Then other text can be typed in it’s place.

Use a Combo box control instead.  On the Developer tab it’s the next button to the left of Drop Down box.

The combo box allows other text to be typed into the control box area.

Make data entry easier or avoid issues like misspellings by adding a drop-down list in Word. It takes only a minute, and we’ll show you how.

You don’t have to make a long, fillable form in Microsoft Word to take advantage of form controls. You may have just one or two spots where you want to add something like a drop-down list. This allows you or your reader to select an item from the choices you provide. It can help eliminate errors with data entry and spelling.

Here, we’ll show you how to add a simple drop-down list to a Word document.

Add the Drop-Down Form Control

To work with form controls in Word, you must use the Developer tab. If you don’t see this tab, you can add it easily by following our how-to, How to Enable the Developer Tab on the Microsoft Office Ribbon.

1. Place your cursor in the document where you want to add the drop-down list.
2. Go to the Developer tab and click the Drop-Down List Content Control button.
3. You’ll see the control pop into your document as a box with “Choose an item.” inside. You can then move onto setting up the list.

Create the Drop-Down List

Next, you’ll add the list items, give the control a name, and adjust a few other settings per your preference. Select the control, go back to the Developer tab, and click Properties in the Controls section of the ribbon.

The Content Control Properties window will open, ready for your list details.

Title and Tag: Enter the Title and optionally a Tag you want to use for the list.

Show as: By default, this is set to Bounding Box. You can change it to display with Start/End Tags if you prefer.

Color and Style: If you want to give your control color or a particular style, you can select those next.

Remove the control: Optionally, you can remove the control when contents are edited by checking the next box.

Locking: You’ll see two locking options for the control. So you can restrict it from being deleted and the contents from being edited by checking one or both of those options.

Add Your List Items

Finally, you’ll add your list of items. You’ll notice that “Choose an item.” is a list option. You can keep it, edit it by clicking Modify, or delete it by clicking Remove.

Next, click Add to insert a list item. The Value will automatically enter as you type the Display Name. Click OK when you finish. Then continue to insert your remaining list items the same way.

Once you have all of your list choices, you can rearrange them using the Move Up and Move Down buttons on the right.

When you’re happy with your list set up, click OK to apply the properties.

And that’s all there is to it! To use the drop-down list, click it and choose an option using the arrow.

Limit Data Entry Options Using a Drop-Down List in Word

A drop-down list is a useful form control in Word, whether for simplicity or to avoid data entry issues. You can make sure that only specific items are available for yourself or others to select.

For more, take a look at how to automate forms in Word with custom fields or how to create a simple Word checklist.

Hero, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, Productivity