Adding Pop-Up Documentation to a Cell

Want a neat trick you can use to make your worksheets more helpful to users? How about adding a pop-up window that displays documentation whenever the cell is selected? To add such a feature, follow these steps if you are using a version of Excel prior to Excel 2007:

1. Select the cell for which you want the pop-up to appear.
2. Choose Validation from the Data menu.
3. Make sure the Input Message tab is displayed. (Click here to see a related figure.)
4. Make sure the Show Input Message When Cell is Selected check box is selected.
5. In the Title box, enter a title for the pop-up window. (This title appears in bold at the top of the pop-up window.)
6. In the Input Message box, enter the text of the documentation you want to appear in the pop-up window.
7. Click OK.

If you are using Excel 2007 then you should follow these steps:

1. Select the cell for which you want the pop-up to appear.
2. Display the Data tab of the ribbon.
3. In the Data Tools group, click the Data Validation tool. Excel displays the Data Validation dialog box.
4. Make sure the Input Message tab is displayed.
5. Make sure the Show Input Message When Cell is Selected check box is selected.
6. In the Title box, enter a title for the pop-up window. (This title appears in bold at the top of the pop-up window.)
7. In the Input Message box, enter the text of the documentation you want to appear in the pop-up window.
8. Click OK.

There are, obviously, other ways you can use the Data Validation feature of Excel to check and limit the data that is entered in a cell. However, if you follow the steps above, all data is still accepted, and Excel displays a helpful message whenever the cell is selected.