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How to set up list(s) for 3-level dependent data validation lists?

Hello - I'm an Access developer that has been tasked with spiffing up a spreadsheet that holds employee rewards. It has the expected data: division, department, reward area, reward type, etc...

It wasn't a problem to set up the Division-Department table for dependent data validation lists, but now they are telling me they want to add a 3rd level of "Section".

so, is there a smart way to set up for a 3-level grid?

If it's just a single 3-column grid, how do you keep from getting Dept values in the Dept DVL that are repeated for every Section element?

If it's 2 2-column grids of Division-Departments, and then Departments-Sections, then the user has to keep it straight as time goes by and they have to maintain those grids.

Thanks

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Anne Troy

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mlagrange

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Thanks - I my situation was a more complicated, but your link led me to:

http://blog.contextures.com/archives/2010/03/31/dependent-data-validation-from-pivot-tables/

And I was able to base off of that. As one of the commenters noted, her (his?) solution was geared for Excel 2003, and it's a little easier now that you can "Repeat All Item Labels", so you don't have to find the last matching item, just the first one. I was able to get by with a combination of OFFSET(), MATCH() and COUNTIF()

Thanks again

Anne Troy

You're welcome. Glad you got it sorted.