How do I create a custom list in Excel?

Custom lists in excel is used to sort data based on the users choice and is especially useful when you need to perform multiple tasks on the same data on a repititive basis.. Under normal sort, excel provides general options to sort like from A to Z or high or low, but with custom list, you can sort the data as per your desire

How to Create a Custom List in Excel?

Let us learn how to create Custom List in Excel using practical examples

Example #1 Custom List Created Manually in Excel

Lets follow the below steps:

  1. Open Excel. Go to File and select Options.


  2. Choose Advanced and click on Edit Custom Lists.


  3. Click on New List, then click on Add.


  4. Write details in List Entries Box. Press enter after writing each entry. Click ok after writing all the details.


  5. Click on Ok option.


  6. Go to the excel file. Type first name only from the entry list.


  7. Drag from the first entry done in the excel file.


  8. Details are now automatically updated, without the need to type manually in Excel file. This is an example of a custom list created manually by a user in excel.


  9. Days of the week need not be created manually in the excel custom list even if the first day of the week is entered.



    Then the first entry cell is dragged, other days of the week get auto-populated. This list already exists in Excel and cannot be deleted by the user.

    Months of the year also exists in Excel. There is no need to manually create a list for days of the month in Excel.

  10. Write the Month name in a cell and Drag that cell. Months name gets automatically populated.


  11. A manually created list by the user is now visible in the excel custom Lists. The delete can be clicked to delete the manually made list.


  12. The list can be created either horizontally or vertically.


Example #2 Create List in Different Sheet

Lists can also be created on a different sheet.

Step 1 Enter the details in the new sheet.

Step 2 Go to the new list. Click on Add then, click on Arrow.

Step 3 Custom List in excel gets populated. Select newly entered details. Dollar and semicolon sign automatically gets created. There is no need to create these signs manually.

Step 4 Click on import then click ok twice.

Step 5 Go to another sheet, type first name from the entry list, and drag cell from the first entry.

You can see this list on another sheet.

The user does not enter a comma. Comma gets automatically created in custom lists dialog.

Note: The above examples were done in Excel 2013. Go to File---options---advancededit custom list and follow the same steps as above for doing in Excel 2007. TOOLS-- OPTIONS-- CUSTOM LIST and follow same steps as above for doing in Excel 2003.

Things to Remember

  • Avoid creating a list that already exists; for example, days of the week, months in a year.
  • Remember the first entry created while preparing the list.
  • Do not keep lengthy sentences on the list. A Custom list in excel helps in data collection and creating reports.
  • Entries in a list can be either changed or deleted as per user preference.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Custom List in Excel. Here we discuss how to create it step by step along with examples. You may learn more about excel from the following articles

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