Dependent Dropdown Troubleshooter: Why Is My List Broken?
Diagnose a broken dependent dropdown by answering guided questions, then get a ranked list of likely causes and a fix for each one.
The Open buttons send the prompt text as currently shown below to that site only when you click. Fill in the placeholders first.
[VERIFY] is an editorial flag, not a blank to fill. Wherever the prompt shows [VERIFY], check that item against a reliable source before you use it.
My dependent dropdown is not working and I need you to troubleshoot it, one question at a time. Ask a question, wait for my answer, then ask the next. My app is [SPREADSHEET_APP]. What the problem looks like: [PROBLEM_DESCRIPTION]. The data validation source I used for the second list: [SOURCE_FORMULA]. My lists are located at: [LIST_LOCATIONS]. Questions to cover, but only ask the ones my answers make relevant: Does the first dropdown work alone? Are the named ranges spelled exactly as the parent options? Do any options contain spaces, ampersands or numbers at the start? Is the source on another sheet? Are there blank cells at the end of any list? Is the child cell protected, merged, or formatted as a table? Did the parent change after the child was chosen? After the questions, give me a diagnosis table with columns Likely cause, How to test it in under a minute, Fix, Confidence (high, medium, low), ranked by likelihood. Then write the corrected setup steps, with the exact formula to paste using my real range names. Do not guess when you do not have enough information: say what extra detail you need. Mark menu paths and feature availability [VERIFY] for my version. Do not tell me to install add-ons or run scripts unless every simpler fix has failed.
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