Create a Maintained Status Dropdown in PlanMaker 2026

A maintained dropdown gives a small team one vocabulary for task status. Keep the vocabulary in visible worksheet cells so an editor can see exactly what the validation rule permits. This exercise separates the dropdown, typed-input enforcement and the audit needed after a paste.

Build the complete practice sheet

Start a blank workbook. Enter the following cells; leave C2:C4 empty initially. Keep column D empty as a visual separator.

Cell	Entry	Cell	Entry
A1	Task	B1	Owner
C1	Status	E1	Allowed status
A2	Prepare quote	B2	Alex
A3	Check stock	B3	Sam
A4	Send invoice	B4	Jo
E2	New	E3	In progress
E4	Blocked	E5	Done

Save a native-format working copy as status-practice.pmdx. The allowed list has four entries, no heading and no blank inside E2:E5.

Apply a cell-backed rule

1. Select C2:C4. Open Review → Input validation.
2. On Settings, set Allow to List entries. In Source, enter =E2:E5. This is the manual’s range-source syntax, including the initial equals sign. Keep the source on the same worksheet for this exercise.
3. Enable Use dropdown and Ignore empty cells. The latter permits an unfinished task row to have no status yet.
4. On Input message, enable the message and enter Choose one of the maintained statuses.
5. On Error message, enable the error message and choose Error message, the first Type icon. Enter Choose a status from the list. Warning and Information are not equivalent blocking choices.
6. Confirm. Select C2 and use the arrow at its right edge to choose New. Choose In progress in C3 and Done in C4.

Expected checkpoint: C2:C4 contains New, In progress, Done. The dropdown in each cell offers four choices. If only one cell behaves correctly, inspect the other cells’ rule rather than assuming the selection was correct.

Test the rule’s boundary

Type Waiting into C2. The blocking error should reject it; cancel the attempted edit and check that New remains. Clear C3’s contents: a blank is allowed under this exercise’s Ignore empty cells setting. Then restore In progress from the dropdown.

Now enter Waiting in G2 and copy/paste it into C2 on this disposable practice sheet. SoftMaker explicitly warns that pasted values bypass typed-input validation. Inspect C2’s rule afterward: a paste can also bring unwanted cell attributes. Reapply the rule to C2:C4 if necessary, without replacing the values, then choose Review → Input validation → Mark invalid data. C2 should be an exception while Waiting is absent from E2:E5. Next invalid cell helps find it. Replace C2 with New and rerun the audit; remove old marks with Remove marks before a clean final check. Audit marks do not repair data.

Maintain and grow the list

Change E4 from Blocked to On hold, then reopen a status dropdown. Its choice should reflect the source list. Existing stored statuses are not a migration plan: if a record still says Blocked, audit it and intentionally replace it with On hold.

Add E6 = Waiting. Edit the rule for all C2:C4 cells so Source becomes =E2:E6; do not assume that appending below a fixed range expands it. Add A5 = Arrange pickup and B5 = Lee. Apply the same rule to C5 explicitly, and choose Waiting there. Expected list size is five and C5 should reject a new typed word such as Unknown.

Advanced alternative: a short fixed vocabulary can be entered directly in Source as New,In progress,On hold,Done,Waiting. The manual documents comma-separated entries. A cell-backed list is easier to maintain without reopening every rule; do not mix the two source methods in one field.

Reset and verify after reopening

To remove validation deliberately, select the target cells and set Allow → All values in the same dialog. This removes enforcement, not the existing status text. Reapply the rule before the final save if you want to retain the exercise.

Save, close and reopen the working copy. Check the five source cells, a dropdown in C5, rejection of Unknown, and the blank policy. Run Mark invalid data again: its circles are not saved with the workbook. Keep the original fixture above as a reset reference; do not depend on Undo surviving reopening.

Troubleshooting

• No arrow: select the cell and check List entries plus Use dropdown.
• A typed invalid value is accepted: check that the error message is enabled and its type is the first, blocking icon.
• An appended option is missing: extend Source explicitly and inspect every intended target cell.
• Invalid text appeared after an import: audit after bulk changes; a dropdown is not an import firewall.

For numeric bounds instead of a vocabulary, use numeric input validation.

Version and verification notes

PlanMaker 2026 paid desktop; documentation-qualified workflow for Windows, macOS and Linux. NX builds require matching controls; FreeOffice and mobile editions are not verified. These steps use the English ribbon labels; classic-menu placement is not assumed to match. Documented context-menu or alternate ribbon routes are included where verified.

The instructions in this guide were checked against SoftMaker’s PlanMaker 2026 manual. Expected results are reference checks, not observations from a native application run. No current application screenshot is claimed.

Official references

• Input validation
• Settings for input validation
• Detecting invalid data in cells
• System requirements
• Saving a document