Microsoft Excel Tutorial: How to Limit Character Input in Excel Forms.
Welcome back to the MrExcel netcast! In today's episode, we have a question from Ron in Dallas. If you have a question for the podcast, please leave a voicemail or email me at bill@mrexcel.com. Ron has built a form in Excel and wants to know how to merge cells to make a particular piece of the form longer. However, he's also looking for a way to limit the number of characters that can be entered in the form. This is important because if someone fills out the form and their data spills over the edge of the field, it won't be visible when the form is printed.
Ron compared this issue to a typewriter, where the typing would automatically stop when it reached the edge of the paper. Unfortunately, there isn't a built-in feature in Excel that does this. But, I have a couple of ideas that might help. The first thing we need to do is determine how many characters can fit in the field. We can use the =LEN function to get an approximate number. In this case, it's about 22 characters.
Next, we can use Data Validation to set a limit on the number of characters that can be entered in the field. This is usually used for creating drop-down lists, but we can also use it to specify a specific text length. We can set a minimum of 1 character and a maximum of 22 characters. If someone tries to enter more than 22 characters, they will receive an error message saying "Data too Long. This field will only accept 22 characters." While this solution isn't perfect, it can help prevent people from entering data that is too long.
However, this method can be frustrating for users as they won't know exactly where the limit is until they receive the error message. So, in tomorrow's episode, we will explore another solution to this problem. Thank you for tuning in to today's netcast from MrExcel. Don't forget to leave your questions in the comments below and we'll see you next time!
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Ron from Dallas asks how he can limit the number of characters that will fit in a certain cell. Episode 585 shows you how.
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Table of Contents:
(00:00) Introduction and question from Ron
(00:21) How to submit questions for the podcast
(00:31) Ron's issue with merging cells and limiting character input
(00:42) The frustration of not being able to stop data from spilling over the edge
(01:01) Comparison to a typewriter and potential solutions
(01:12) First solution: using Data Validation to set a maximum character limit
(02:03) Limitations of this solution and a preview of tomorrow's podcast
(02:51) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm
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