Creating a document tracker...

[~genevieve]

I'm sending this out there in the hopes that someone who has vast more Excel
knowledge can help...

I am attempting to create a master tracking sheet that I can use at work for
the various things that I need to keep an eye on for my job.

I track three basic types of documents: Applications, Checks, and Mailings.
What I would love to set up is a series of options that opens up in the
following columns depending upon the document type selected.

For example, I sent an "application" out on X date, I want the next column
to have a list of common applications, and then the following column to
populate the date to follow up (which is always three days out).

On the row underneath however I could enter that I sent a check to corporate
on X date and a similar but different set of options would populate such as
type of account deposited into and amount.

The date for follow up calls is pretty constant at three days, so I am sure
I can figure out how to create a formula for a column that pre-populates the
date+3 to follow up.

If someone would please just point me in the right that would be great. So
far, all my Google searching has got me to creating lists within a column by
using data validation. I hope that this is on the right track!

Thank you in advance for anyone who responds. I greatly appreciate it as
getting this put together would save my work life a whole lot of stress as I
currently have four different trackers for four different types of documents!

~genevieve

 

[JLatham]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Data Validation to create your
initial list is probably a good way to go.
You might have a look, if Google hasn't led you there already, at
http://contextures.com/xlDataVal02.html
If that doesn't exactly fit your bill, look at
http://contextures.com/tiptech.html
down in the D's for various other data validation methods.

As for your 3-days out issue, the formula is pretty simple: just add 3 to
the date you entered for the date of the initial action. Assuming that date
was entered into cell A4, then the formula would be =A4+3, but a better one
to keep weird dates from appearing before you actually enter an activity date:
=IF(A4="","",A4+3)