Help texts for cells in Excel

Help texts in Excel can help increase the user-friendliness of your worksheets. They can make inputs in cells easier and clearer, especially for beginners or new employees who are not yet familiar with the forms. In this guide, you will learn how to set help texts for specific cells in Excel and the options that data validation offers.

Main Findings

• Help texts facilitate input in cells.
• Data validation allows restriction of the user interface.
• Error messages can be displayed when invalid entries are made.

Setting Help Texts

Let's start by opening the yearly calendar where we want to implement the help texts. Highlight the cell or row for which you want to create a help text.

Then, navigate to the "Data" menu and select the option "Data Validation". In this menu, you can make various settings to control the inputs in the selected cell.

Now, you can define a prompt. This is the text that will be displayed when someone selects the cell. For example, you could state the following request: "Here is the delivery date for the customer, which should be up to a maximum of 90 days in the future".

After creating the prompt, confirm your entries to save the settings.

Validating Inputs

To ensure that only valid data is entered into the cell, you need to set the rules for input validation. Again, go to Data Validation and select the "Allow" setting. Here, you can determine the input criteria. Choose "Date" if you want only date entries to be allowed.

Another step is defining the allowed time frame. You can specify that the start date is "today" and the end date is set to a maximum of 90 days in the future. This gives you the flexibility to allow inputs within this timeframe.

You can also configure error messages optionally. Here, you can choose whether an "Error Alert", a "Warning", or an "Information" should be displayed for invalid entries. An Error Alert prevents erroneous data from being saved and requires a correct input.

Handling Error Messages

Once you have set the input validation and any configured error messages, test the inputs. Enter an intentionally invalid date that does not meet the set criteria to test the error message.

If the input does not meet the criteria, an error message will appear as expected. In case of an error, you can alert the user that only date entries are allowed, which should be up to a maximum of 90 days in the future.

Allow the user to make another attempt. Enter a correct date and ensure that the help texts and inputs are valid.

Adjust Settings and Undo Changes

If you wish to adjust or remove input restrictions or help texts, you can access Data Validation at any time. There, you can remove existing checkmarks or click on "Clear All" to reset all settings.

This flexibility is essential, especially when working with complex tables that require many different inputs. Help texts make the work easier for you and other users by providing clear instructions on what should be entered into a cell.

Summary

Specifying help text in Excel can significantly facilitate data entry in cells and help avoid errors. By using data validation, you have control over which data enters the cells, and can configure error messages to assist the user.