Smartsheet FORM Dropdown List - Cells in Column "have values that aren't dropdown values" Error

AmandaGSA

Hello All,

Specifically for the Form's Dropdown List - what does it mean when I get this error message for a list that has 87 (manual, ugh) entries? —> (14 cells in (form) column) "have values that aren't dropdown values." Are there any special characters that aren't allowed, maybe? What are the rules for text to be valid in a Form's Dropdown List? I'm missing 5 entries of my long long list, but I have no idea why.

Thanks-

Amanda

Smartsheet Form Dropdown List - Values arent Dropdown Values -error.PNG

Paul Newcome

Special characters are allowed.

All forms feed a sheet.

What your pop-up is saying is that there are rows that have something entered in them that are not included in the dropdown column properties.

So if your dropdown column properties list

A

B

C

and have the feature turned on to restrict selections to only column properties…

If there is a row in the sheet that has "D" in that column, it will output that alert saying that there is a row in the sheet that has something in it that is not listed in the column properties as an allowable selection.

ChristianFinke

Hi @AmandaGSA

The error means that 14 cells in the “BAS” column have values that don’t exactly match your dropdown list options. This can happen if there are typos, extra spaces, special characters, or if some options were accidentally missed when you entered the list. Double-check that all 87 options are in there, match the existing values perfectly, and don’t have any odd characters or spaces. Once everything lines up, save and refresh to see if the issue resolves.

Please let me know if if you have any further questions or if you would like additional help.

AmandaGSA

Thanks Christian. I didn't mention it, but yes, I wondered if special characters such as " " ( ), spaces, and commas are allowed or not (?) for the Form's dropdown values. Some of my entries in the list use those character. Are they allowed? (I don't see any Smartsheet informational popup in the Form that would indicate that "rule") This is for a Form — not a sheet. Therefore, there are no "existing values to match perfectly" against some other column etc. Any selection should be valid in my opinion. Thanks for your input. But I think the Forms' dropdown lists work differently than in the Sheets, it seems. Not sure still what this sporadic error means….

Paul Newcome

Special characters are allowed.

All forms feed a sheet.

What your pop-up is saying is that there are rows that have something entered in them that are not included in the dropdown column properties.

So if your dropdown column properties list

A

B

C

and have the feature turned on to restrict selections to only column properties…

If there is a row in the sheet that has "D" in that column, it will output that alert saying that there is a row in the sheet that has something in it that is not listed in the column properties as an allowable selection.

AmandaGSA

Thanks Paul Newcombe!!

I had tons of special characters in my Form's Dropdown List, and I'm glad to hear that special characters are allowed! (I'd hate to re-type all that manually, ugh) ….. I wonder if Smartsheet will ever provide the capability to copy/paste Dropdown Lists into a Form?

Based on what you said I realized some things —
(1) Form dropdown lists are linked (duh, of course…) to its associated sheet's Column Properties, which I didn't consider and incorrectly thought that the Form's Dropdown List and Sheet/Grid's column properties were isolated from each other.
(2) I had forgotten that I had some dummy variables in the Sheet's associated column that didn't align with the Dropdown List selections I just entered in the Form. The dummy variables themselves were the "culprits" causing this flagged error in the Form.
(3) The flagged error was ONLY SHOWING in the Form editing-view, and the error really should have been shown in the Sheet view for the column that had the "invalid" dummy variables I had entered much earlier. I consequently was on a wild goose chase looking in the wrong area to solve the problem—in the Form view— when I should have been looking at the Sheet's Column Properties.

Short story— no more Dropdown List errors. Thanks again! This had me stumped! =)

Amanda

Paul Newcome

Happy to help. 👍️