How to protect formula but allow drop down boxes

[SirSquiddly]

Hi guys,

I have created a worksheet that is going to be great and save a lot of time.

However, there will be other users and I know will mess up my formula and have poor data entry consistency.

Therefore, I have columns that limit data entry though the use of drop down boxes, but also have a formula too, which auto populate these columns also.

I am trying to find a way that allows auto population and drop down box but the formula is protected.

My problem in a bit more depth:

Column H is free. A serial number is entered. From out database, columns I,J, K and L are auto-populated with descriptions and dimensions, which works great. However, we have 3rd party serial numbers that require to be entered into H, therefore we do not have descriptions/dimensions, but I want these to be standardised with our data base. For example sizes like 3-1/2" are being entered 3 1/2", 3.5" etc, and I have standardised this through dropdown box and error alerts. I also have a VLOOKUP formula in I,J,K and L that I want to protect.

I hope this is possible. Any guidance is much appreciated.

thanks

 

[Jeffrey Mahoney]

I never understood the comment: "You can't have your cake and eat it too", But in this case it might apply.

You can put a formula in a cell with a dropdown, but as soon as the user selects a different value from the dropdown, the formula gets erased.

When would you want the formula to be valid again? Is this reset at some point? Maybe a quick macro to load the formulas again during reset?

Jeff