How to refer to the title of a data validity criteria in order to assign it to additional cells?

[rhimbo]

Libre Office 7.1.6.2 on macOS 11.6.

I have some defined data validity criteria (of type ‘List’ but that’s irrelevant here) in a spread sheet. The various criteria have been assigned to certain cells in the spread sheet.

I would like to give each data criteria a title so that I can refer to it when configuring other cells to use it. I can’t figure out how to do this.

1. I select some cells which have assigned a particular data validity criteria.
2. On the ‘Input Help’ tab of the ‘Validity’ dialog box (Data → Validity… → Input Help) there is a ‘Title’ field.
3. I enter a text title and then save the dialog.
4. With the same cells selected, I go to Data → Validity… → Input Help. I see the text title I entered.

How do I refer to this title when assigning this data validity ranges for other cells?

Thanks in advance…

[Zizi64]

You can not reference to the data by the Help string. (At least there is not a simple way to do it. Maybe some macros can get the Help string of a Data validity cell.)

Try to add a textual Name to the Data validity cells. You can use the Cell Names in the Formulas of other cells.

[mariosv]

Data validity it’s part of cell’s format, so you can copy the format from a cell with it. An easy way it’s using the paintbrush icon (next to copy-paste icon), or using paste-special [Shift+Ctrrl+V] pasting only format.

[rhimbo]

I think my question was not clear.

I want to reference a list by some name. I do not want to reference the value of a particular cell, the value of which I selected from a ‘List’ of text values.

For example, I want to define ‘List’ that I can then re-use (apply to any cell in the spreadsheet) without retyping all the entries comprising the list.

[karolus]

If you want to re_use the same list, you should NOT use list but Cellrange in →→Validity→Criteria.

obviously you need to type your List in that Cellrange

[rhimbo]

OK, I got it to work. Here is what I did…

1. Opened a new sheet in my spread sheet.
2. Defined several lists comprised of text
3. Assigned the list to a range of cells highlighted for which I wanted data validation.

The steps below comprise #2 above.
2a. Opened a new sheet in my spread sheet.
2b. Typed the “list” of text selections I needed
2c. Selected the cells whose contents I wanted to comprise my data validation list.
2d. Assigned (entered) a name in the ‘Name’ field.
2e. Selected ‘Add’
2f. Selected ‘OK’.

The steps below comprise #3 in the first list above.
3a. Navigated to the sheet on which I wanted to define data validation.
3b. Highlighted a range of cells.
3c. Selected Data → Validation…
3d. Selected “Cell range” in the ‘Allow’ field.
3e. Typed the name of the previously defined data validation list I wanted to use.
3f. Selected ‘OK’