Alternative to a drop down list

[Felicity]

Hi, I have designed a requisition form. The first work sheet "req" in the
spreadsheet is a form that links to 3 other worksheets in the spreadsheet.
In the "req' worksheet, Officers select a supplier from a dropdown box. It
then does looks ups (Vlookups) based on the supplier chosen, and returns
information such as supplier number, name, address, contract no etc etc. THe
thing is, because there are 900 suppliers on the drop down list, it drives
people nuts scrolling through to find the correct supplier. Thye have given
feedback saying they would like to be able to type into the field so it takes
them to the post in the list so they can select the supplier.
ie - if they type w, it will take them to the start of the suppliers
beginning with "w", then if they add an e (so now they have typed "we" ) -
they will be placed at the spot where the suppliers begin with "we" and so on
until they quickly get to the supplier they need.

Can Excel do this? I would be really grateful for any assistance

 

[Toppers]

Look at the Combobox from the Control Toolbox: this allows you to type into
the field as you require.

 

[Michael]

Yes, but you must change the type of dropdown. Must likely you selected your
dropdown from the Forms Toolbar, You must now create your dropdown using the
Control Toolbox Toolbar(click on the View Option from your Main Menu to
select).
Once You insert your combobox(dropdown), right click on it and select
properties,
Click on the "Categorized" tab and under the Miscellaneous Category place
your data range cell reference on the ListFillRange (i.e. A1:A50)
Make sure AutowordSelect = True under the Behavior Category.

 

[Max]

Try Debra's coverage on "autocomplete" for DVs as well:
http://www.contextures.com/xlDataVal10.html
Data Validation -- Combo box

There's also a sample file link at the bottom of that page