What you will build
Create a dropdown for Status cells C2:C4 with exactly Planned, Working and Done.
Learning objective
Select C2:C4, open Insert > Dropdown, configure the three choices, save the rule, and use the dropdown inside a cell.
Open the practice workbook
The sample table is A1:C4. Status is column C.
Practice in your own copy
Make your own Google Sheets copy with the same data, formulas, formatting, filter and frozen header. The original remains unchanged.
Sign in to Google. If the original is not publicly shared, download the full workbook and import it into Google Sheets, or paste the example data into your own sheet.
Open the sample workbook in Google Drive (access required) ↗
Hands-on practice
Step 1: Select C2:C4 only. Do not include C1 because the Status header should remain plain text.
Step 2: With C2:C4 selected, open Insert > Dropdown.
Step 3: In the dropdown rule editor, confirm Apply to range is C2:C4. Configure Planned, Working and Done, then save the rule.
Step 4: Confirm C2:C4 now show dropdown controls and retain the intended values.
Step 5: Open one Status cell and choose a value from its dropdown instead of typing free-form text.
Checkpoint
| Task | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Brief | An | Planned |
| Design | Binh | Working |
| QA | Chi | Done |
C2:C4 must share one dropdown rule with Planned, Working and Done. C1 remains a normal header.
Common mistakes and fixes
If the header becomes a dropdown, change Apply to range back to C2:C4. If an option is missing, reopen the rule and correct the list.
Independent practice
Add a fourth option named Blocked and set one example task to Blocked using the cell dropdown.
Key takeaways
- ✓Select only the intended input cells.
- ✓Use Insert > Dropdown for C2:C4.
- ✓Keep option spelling consistent.
- ✓Verify the dropdown works inside the cells.
- ✓Review old inconsistent values separately.
Check your understanding
Answer four questions about the practice sheet.
Continue learning
Previous lesson: Protect ranges and sheets; Next lesson: Use conditional formatting.