Remove blank cells from data validation drop down box

[Jay]

First, I've checked out Debra Dalgeish's contextures web site and found some
really *GREAT* info there (thank you!).

But I'm still having issues with the drop down function using data validation.

I have drop down boxes that rely on the value of the cells to the left. I've
got it functional with a work around, but I'd like to make this simpler.

Here's what I have set up:
This is used for a single elimiation tournament with 16 teams.

Cells A1, A3, A5, A7, A9...A31 have static values in them (A2, A4...A30 are
blank)

I use a drop down validation box that has the values of A1 and A3 in it for
cell B2, same for A5 and A7 for B6 all the way to B30 (for A29 and A31)

I then move over to cell C4 (using the values from B2 and B6) to C28 (B26/B30)

See where I'm going here?

The users pick from the drop down boxes, which propagates over to the next
column until there is only one value (which ends up in E16).

The drop-down boxes reference other cells that I've hidden at the bottom of
the sheet, this list does not have any spaces between the values (16 in
column A, 8 in Column B, 4 in C, 2 in D). These are simple statements that
refrence the non-blank cells (A20's value is "=$A$1", B20 is "=$B$2, for a
few examples)

The data validation for B2 is a list with a source of A20 and A21.

What I'd really like to do is set the validation list in B2 to be A1 and A3
without having the user see the blank cell that's in A2 because it gets messy
when you get out to E16 with values in the first and last positions with 30
blank spaces in between.

What is comes down to is this:

1) Is there an easier way to do what I've done with calls to other cells for
the drop down list?
2) Is using the drop down list in Data Validation the best way to do this?

I'm using 2007, but I also tried to find a better solution when I had 2003.

Thanks!

 

[T. Valko]

1) Is there an easier way to do what I've done

Maybe! Take a look at this sample file then decide if it was/is easier.

It would take too long to try to explain this so I put together a small
sample file to demonstrate it.

Brackets.xlsx 10kb

http://cjoint.com/?mffCVxgO54

The teams in col A are manually entered. Then, everything else is chosen
from a drop down. I have it set so that you can't pick from the drop downs
until all the teams have been entered/chosen in the previous flight. In
other words, the drop downs in col B won't work until all 16 teams have been
entered in col A. The drop downs in col C won't work until all the teams
have been chosen in col B. Etc., Etc.

 

[Jay]

Thank you, Biff!

Although I think the way I have it currently is easier in this instance --
at least for me to keep track of -- this has been helpful. If nothing else,
I'm seeing a different way of doing what I want done so the next time I need
somehthing like this I'll have more than one way to do it.

Thanks!
->Jay

 

[T. Valko]

Good deal. Thanks for the feedback!