Recently I posted about how you could construct dynamic (cascading) dropdowns that could easily handle multiple levels, like this:
…and we saw that users could subsequently change upstream dropdowns in a way that would make downstream choices invalid, like this:
In my previous post I used some VBA to clear out any ‘downstream’ choices if anything ‘upstream’ changed:
Updated for 2024:
Please see my latest article on Dependent Drop-downs using XLOOKUP to implement a simpler and scalable technique. It works great when you have two or multiple levels and can be expanded to an entire table column or sheet column.
A much simpler alternative
My sample file drew on Roger Govier’s excellent approach on the Contextures website, which used two dynamic named ranges to feed the data validation lists, one called MainList and one called SubList. Roberto commented that you could achieve pretty much the same thing with no VBA and with just one validation formula. His approach is pure genius!
Here’s a sample file that utilizes Roberto’s approach:
Click here to download the file
This approach uses a validation formula with a couple of relative references in it. Relative references look for cells that are some predetermined distance left/right and up/down from the active cell. Here’s his formula, which was entered into the Name Manager while cell B8 was selected:
=IF(ISBLANK(Sheet1!C8),IF(DataEntry[#Headers] Sheet1!B:B = DataEntry[[#Headers],[Main Category]],OFFSET(ValidationLists[[#All],[Main Categories]],1,,COUNTA(ValidationLists[Main Categories])),OFFSET(ValidationLists,0,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,COUNTA(OFFSET(ValidationLists,,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,,1)),1)))
This formulas assumes:
- You use Excel Tables for both the Validation List and the data entry area, and so uses the associated Structured References that Table functionality allows.
- Your validation table is called ValidationLists
- Your data entry table where the dropdowns are is called table is called DataEntry.
- The column containing your initial dropdowns is called ‘Main Category’
- The validation list in your validation table that contains your initial categories is called ‘Main Categories’
You will have to amend this formula accordingly if your tables or initial columns have different names.
The relative reference in this formula checks both the cell to the immediate left AND the cell to the immediate right of your current selection. Entering relative references into the Name Manager can be tricky…you first need to select the cell where the formula was originally created – in this case B8 – before you fire up the Name Manager dialog box. (Note that it doesn’t actually matter whether your own file has anything in C8 or not, or whether in fact your dropdowns are somewhere else entirely…rather it’s just that the above formula happens to refer to A8 and C8, and because we want our formula to always reference the cell on the immediate left and immediate right, then we’ve got to select the cell B8 which is in the middle.
Excel Tables – known as ListObjects to VBA developers – were introduced in Excel 2007, and are a very powerful and simple way to store things like lists, chart data, and PivotTable data…especially if you might need to add more data to your spreadsheet at a later date, and want to avoid having to repoint all your formulas to include the additional data. If you’re not familiar with Excel Tables – or you don’t know what that Table1[#Headers] guff above means – then I strongly suggest you check out Chandoo’s Introduction to Structural References or give GOOGLE a spin.
How does this awesome beast work?
Let’s step through it, bit by bit. Note that I’ve put some extra spaces in after each opening formula bracket, purely so this formula will wrap nicely on your monitor. Excel just ignores these extra spaces, so don’t bother taking them out.
=IF(ISBLANK(Sheet1!C8),IF(DataEntry[#Headers] Sheet1!B:B = DataEntry[[#Headers],[Main Category]],OFFSET(ValidationLists[[#All],[Main Categories]],1,,COUNTA(ValidationLists[Main Categories])),OFFSET(ValidationLists,0,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,COUNTA(OFFSET(ValidationLists,,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,,1)),1)))
That first bit in bold above checks the cell on the immediate right. If that cell on the right is not blank, then that means that the user has already made ‘downstream’ selections. We don’t want the user to change this ‘upstream’ dropdown without clearing those out. Thanks to the IF statement, if that’s the case then none of the rest of the formula gets executed, and the formula just returns FALSE. Data validation can’t handle this FALSE, so users can click on the dropdown button all they like, but nothing will come up. Consequently, the user simply can’t change this ‘upstream’ selection until they’ve first cleared out any selections they previously made in the cells to the right. Pure genius.
Here’s what that looks like:
Sweet! Okay, let’s take a look at the rest of the formula:
=IF(ISBLANK(Sheet1!C8),IF(DataEntry[#Headers] Sheet1!B:B = DataEntry[[#Headers],[Main Category]],OFFSET(ValidationLists[[#All],[Main Categories]],1,,COUNTA(ValidationLists[Main Categories])),OFFSET(ValidationLists,0,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,COUNTA(OFFSET(ValidationLists,,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,,1)),1)))
That bit in bold above checks whether the dropdown is the Main Category column. It does this using the INTERSECT operator, which is a space between two references (in this case of DataEntry[#Headers] B:B the INTERSECT operator is the space between DataEntry[#Headers] and the column reference B:B. Such a space tells Excel to go to the overlap or intersection of those two references, which in this case is the junction between the header row and the column that our dropdown is in.
- If the current dropdown is in the Main Category column, then this bold bit:
=IF(ISBLANK(Sheet1!C8),IF(DataEntry[#Headers] Sheet1!B:B = DataEntry[[#Headers],[Main Category]],OFFSET(ValidationLists[[#All],[Main Categories]],1,,COUNTA(ValidationLists[Main Categories])),OFFSET(ValidationLists,0,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,COUNTA(OFFSET(ValidationLists,,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,,1)),1)))
…serves up just the list containing our initial categories (i.e. ‘Fruit’, ‘Vegetables’, or ‘Other Stuff’ in this example). - If the current dropdown is not in the Main Category column, then this bold bit:
=IF(ISBLANK(Sheet1!C8),IF(DataEntry[#Headers] Sheet1!B:B = DataEntry[[#Headers],[Main Category]],OFFSET(ValidationLists[[#All],[Main Categories]],1,,COUNTA(ValidationLists[Main Categories])),OFFSET(ValidationLists,0,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,COUNTA(OFFSET(ValidationLists,,MATCH(Sheet1!A8, ValidationLists[#Headers],0)-1,,1)),1)))
…serves up the particular list relevant given the previous choice made in the dropdown to the left.
Wicked, eh!
Normally I don’t advocate the use of volatile functions such as OFFSET if there is a non-volatile alternate (and you’ll hear more about volatility from me in a forthcoming post). But as Roberto points out in his original comment, in this case it doesn’t matter…choices made via dropdowns are not considered volatile by Excel, even if the formulas used to populate that dropdown are volatile.
Like Roger’s approach, Roberto’s approach can handle any number of cascading levels, provided all the category names are unique. All you need to do is simply add the new subcategories to the right hand side of the validations table.
Thanks Roberto…I learned a lot from those comments. Readers, be sure to visit the Frankens Team and check out the crazy things Roberto, Kris & Gábor get up to with Excel.
Download the sample file
Here’s a sample file that utilizes Roberto’s approach:
Click here to download the file
Updates
Check out the updated 2024 version of this technique with XLOOKUP. The formulas are much simpler and it works with any level of validations.
You may also want to check out my good pal Doug Glancy’s approach to this. His version of dependent dropdowns uses Conditional Formatting to alert the user, and ultimately, the analyst, that something is amiss. Be sure to say hi to him in the comments while you’re there, and to subscribe to his blog. Anyone who makes up sample files about fictional International Pie Lovers Associations deserves our eyeballs!
About the Author.
Jeff Weir – a local of Galactic North up there in Windy Wellington, New Zealand – is more volatile than INDIRECT and more random than RAND. In fact, his state of mind can be pretty much summed up by this:
=NOT(EVEN(PROPER(OR(RIGHT(TODAY())))))
That’s right, pure #VALUE!
35 Responses to “Skip weekends while autofilling dates in excel”
[...] Original post by Chandoo [...]
Hi,
Is there any way that I will choose which are my "working days"?
means, I want to leave also Friday as a free day and not only Saturday.
Or, maybe someday I will pick Tuesday as a day off.
I need to also peek Wednessday, Thursday and Friday as days off. Also, for Tuesday, I would need to leave it off once every two weeks. Is there a way to easy achieve this, so that I won't actually add to my workload?
Hi Mihai... you can use pattern fill feature to do this. Simply follow steps in below demo.
Hi,
I am using MS Office 2007 and for some reason, it does not show me these options. It just shows me 3 options:
Copy Cell (Not sure about the exact text)
Copy with Formatting
Copy without Formatting
Any idea how to get those options up?
Regards,
Deep
@Deep : I am not so well versed with 2007, but here is how you can do this using menus:
enter first date of the series
select the range you want to fill
go to menu > edit > fill > series
in the dialog, select date as the series type and "weekdays only" option
press ok...
Let me know if this doesnt work...
Now that was FAST!!!
I tried it but unfortunately it didn't work..
Here is the screenshot:
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6573/excelsheetyr2.gif
This is what I tried..
I put the date in one row, in another row, added some calculations (as you can see in the image) and drag the content in other rows..
I could not find any Edit menu so i just clicked on the icon as you have shown in the 2nd image..
I hope I did the right thing...
Hmm...
there should be an edit menu as far as I know. Let me check that...
meanwhile... if it works you can use formulas to fill the series.
1. just enter the first date
2. in the 2nd row, enter a formula like =if(weekday(firstdatecell,2)=6,firstdatecell+2, firstdatecell+1)
3. copy the formula over the rest of the range...
@Deep:
you have to use the autofill handle, the small box at the lower right of the active cell. Right click on the autofill handle and drag down to the cells you want to autofill. A menu pops up showing the weekdays only option and others.
@Chandoo - Thanks but it did not work with my calculations. 🙁
@Robert - Yes, it worked this time but I guess, in my case it won't work as I want to add up the days from the column on the left. (As shown in the image)
Basically this is what I want:
1. I want to define project start date
2. There are no. of days assigned for each module
3. I want excel to calculate the date automatically. (By adding up the no. of days and deducting the weekends)
Any kind of help is appriciated.
Reagrds,
Deep
@Deep,
sorry, I misunderstood your question, I thought you would be searching for the autofill-function only (values).
If I got your request corrctly now, you could use the WORKDAY-function, returning the date before or after a specified number of workdays.
In Excel 2003 and earlier the Add-In Analysis Toolpak has to be installed, but since you are using 2007, it should work immediately.
@Deep.. as Robert suggested, Workday is what you should be using. It will calculate future date based number of working days you want to add to input date. Also, you can use this with your own list of holidays.
Thanks Robert, Chandoo.. I will try the things.. 🙂
I tried it and this time it worked.. Thanks to both of you.. you guys made my life much more easier 🙂
[...] You can also customize excel lists so that you can auto-fill, lets say bank holidays in your country or types of beer in your pub. One more auto fill trick. [...]
Hello,
I understand how to turn off the weekend values for a date fill in a regular auto fill. But, what if you are trying to create a custom one, that counts the amount of days in the formula bar, like 2 days, then 5 days, then 1 day etc etc etc, but they must be working days only and they must not include the weekends.
can that be done?
thanks!
hi..
i'm using excel 2007
I'm trying to insert current date automatically
then it suppose not to change after i save and open it on the next day.I need it to stay on the issued date.
i'm using Today function and it is not well work 4 me.
anybody can help to resolve my prob here?
please...
Hi guys,
How about if I just wanna fill up with weekend? The way I am doing now is using the function weekday and use filter to get weekend. Would appreciate if any one comes up with a better idea. Thank you very much.
Regards
Cheng
What happened to being able to indicate the series by adding a few cells and then using the autofill to copy? I can't get this to work - I need 4 rows with the same date skipping weekends.
2/6/2012
2/6/2012
2/6/2012
2/6/2012
2/7/2012
2/7/2012
2/7/2012
2/7/2012
2/8/2012
2/8/2012
2/8/2012
2/8/2012
2/9/2012
2/9/2012
2/9/2012
2/9/2012
Hi Kathy, sorry for a late comment. However, here's the solution.
1.) put your 1st desired date in the 1st 4 cells required (e.g. <cell A1:A4> 2/6/2012)
2.) put the following formula as is in the following four cell (i.e. A5:A8)
=IF(WEEKDAY(A1,2)=5,A1+3, A1+1)
=IF(WEEKDAY(A2,2)=5,A2+3, A1+1)
=IF(WEEKDAY(A2,2)=5,A2+3, A1+1)
=IF(WEEKDAY(A2,2)=5,A2+3, A1+1)
Note: "=5" denotes the number of working days in the week
"+3" denotes the number of days on weekends.
"+1" last denotes the number of days after the working date.
3.) Finally, select cells A4:A8 and then drag drown for furthur dates. The formula will skip Saturday & Sunday in the dates.
Let me know, if you want to tweak the formula as per other ways.
Kamlesh: Thanks for the formula. That was what I was looking for. It works the same in Google Docs Spreadsheets. At first I thought it didn't and did some unnecessary tweaking to make it work.
I was confused by the "IF(WEEKDAY(A2,2)" the modifier 2. I took it out and surpise, the formula didn't work right. I changed the 5 to 6 and then it worked. Turns out, (you probably know this) the default week starts with Sunday. Using 2 makes it start with Monday.
Any way, I didn't know about the Weekday function. Thanks for sharing this post.
Hi, Kamlesh, before i was using "workday" instead of "weekday" but it didn't work.
thanks for sharing the right formula.
At this moment I am going to do my breakfast, when having my breakfast
coming yet again to read further news.
Hi,
I'm using excel 2007
I'm trying to calculate a workday
4 nov 2014(a1) to 12 nov 2014(a2)
Normally i'm using Int formula to do this
=int(a2)-int(a1)
But, hey thats including weekend too... 😀
how do you calculate workday with this condition ?
and if there is not only those day, i mean in a month or two
Thanks before
sagari
@Sagari
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(DATE(2014,11,4),DATE(2014,11,12),1)
=7
You can also include holidays into the formula by having a list of holidays in say A1:A10
Then use
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(DATE(2014,11,4),DATE(2014,11,12),1,A1:A10)
Thanks for replying
Get #NAME? in return when using NETWORKDAYS.INTL
But get 7 with NETWORKDAYS
why ??
Hi
i had a query while making a template for one of my school daily task.
Most of the work in these template includes copy from webpage and paste in the template.
so the problem here is, whenevr me or my mates try to do ctrl+v
the format of the cell changes automatically.
I suggested them to use ctrl+alt+v (text) to paste
but they are not ok with it. they want me to make template in such a way that it should work with normal ctrl +v
Any ideas guys ?
Our working week is Tuesday to Saturday if I wish to make a sheet solely using those days is there a formula I can use ?
I need your support for date.
I wand to numbering actual working date based on date
below is expected result... so how can apply formula to get number automatically... please help me get resolve this problem... many thanks in advanced.
1 8/1/2018
2 8/2/2018
3 8/3/2018
8/4/2018
8/5/2018
4 8/6/2018
5 8/7/2018
6 8/8/2018
7 8/9/2018
8 8/10/2018
8/11/2018
8/12/2018
9 8/13/2018
10 8/14/2018
11 8/15/2018
12 8/16/2018
13 8/17/2018
8/18/2018
8/19/2018
14 8/20/2018
15 8/21/2018
16 8/22/2018
17 8/23/2018
18 8/24/2018
Dear Sir,
I want to make a series of December month which will show all the dates without Fridays.
Is it Possible sir??
Interesting question Salauddin... The built-in options in Excel can't generate dates like this. But you can use simple formulas to make up such a series.
In first cell (say A1) write the starting date (1-Dec-2019 for example). Makesure this date is not a Friday.
In the next cell (A2) write =WORKDAY.INTL(A1,1,16)
Now drag down the A2 cell to fill up dates. Stop when you reach the end of your range of dates.
If your Excel doesn't have WORKDAY.INTL(), then use the below alternative formula.
=A1+1+(WEEKDAY(A1)=5)
Thank you, Thank you very much sir. it worked perfectly & I was expecting something like that.
i want to make a template with date that skips fortnightly is it possible in excel
Hi Chandoo, I need to skip weekends from a specified list of dates.
from the below information I want to pick only the weekdays amount only along with lookup which has builder name separately.
Date Builder Units Amount
06-Jan-08 Doug 8 389
09-Feb-08 Dave 10 385
15-Mar-08 Dave 3 771
18-Apr-08 Brian 5 313
05-May-08 Larry 10 574
22-May-08 Rob 8 730
25-Jun-08 Morgan 4 471
15-Aug-08 Jones 1 548
12-Dec-08 Doug 3 323
10-Apr-09 Dave 5 712
14-May-09 Dave 9 432
10-Sep-09 Brian 6 460
31-Oct-09 Larry 3 741
18-Sep-08 Rob 8 580
25-Nov-08 Doug 6 685
29-Dec-08 Dave 2 401
24-Mar-09 Dave 10 342
04-Jul-09 Brian 8 475
21-Jul-09 Larry 3 535
07-Aug-09 Rob 3 663
26-Feb-08 Gill 10 762
22-Oct-08 Jones 5 425
08-Nov-08 Doug 1 639
27-Apr-09 Dave 4 409
27-Sep-09 Dave 4 612
01-Sep-08 Brian 6 688
17-Jun-09 Larry 10 663
24-Aug-09 Rob 5 608
23-Jan-08 Morgan 6 388
Thank you! I've been struggling with this for ages and today, thanks to this post, I finally figured that I had to customize my toolbar in order to utilise the "Fill" menu. This will make my monthly reports much, much neater