Data entry can sometimes be a big part of using Excel. Show With near endless cells, it can be hard for the person inputting data to know where to put what data. A data entry form can solve this problem and help guide the user to input the correct data in the correct place. Excel has had VBA user forms for a long time, but they are complicated to set up and not very flexible to change. In this blog post, we’re going to explore 5 easy ways to create a data entry form for Excel. Video TutorialExcel TablesWe’ve had Excel tables since Excel 2007. They’re perfect data containers and can be used as a simple data entry form. Creating a table is easy.
We can also use a keyboard shortcut to create a table. The Ctrl + T keyboard shortcut will do the same thing. Make sure the Create Table dialog box has the My table has headers option checked and press the OK button. We now have our data inside an Excel table and we can use this to enter new data. To add new data into our table we can start typing a new entry into the cells directly below the table and the table will absorb the new data. We can use the Tab key instead of Enter while entering our data. This will cause the active cell cursor to move to the right instead of down so we can add the next value into our record. When the active cell cursor is in the last cell of the table (lower right cell), pressing the Tab key will create a new empty row in the table ready for the next entry. This is a perfect and simple data entry form. Data Entry FormExcel actually has a hidden data entry form and we can access it by adding the command to the Quick Access Toolbar. Add the form command to the Quick Access Toolbar.
This will open up the Excel option menu on the Quick Access Toolbar tab.
We can then open up data entry form for any set of data.
This will open up a customized data entry form based on the fields in our data. Microsoft FormsIf we need a simple data entry form, why not use Microsoft Forms? This form option will require our Excel workbook to be saved into SharePoint or OneDrive. The form will be in a browser and not in Excel, but we can link the form to an Excel workbook so that all the data goes into our Excel table. This is a great option if multiple people or people outside our organization need to input data into the Excel workbook. We need to create a Form for Excel in either SharePoint or OneDrive. The process is the same for both SharePoint or OneDrive.
This will prompt us to name the Excel workbook and open up a new browser tab where we can build our form by adding different types of questions. We first need to create the Form and this will create the table in our Excel workbook where the data will get populated. Then we can share the form with anyone we want to input data into Excel. When a user enters data into the form and presses the submit button, that data will automatically show up into our Excel workbook. Power AppsPower Apps is a flexible drag and drop formula based app building platform from Microsoft. We can certainly use it to create a data entry from for our Excel data. In fact, if we have a table of data set up, Power Apps will create the app for us based on our data. It can’t be any easier than that. Sign in to the powerapps.microsoft.com service ➜ go to the Create tab in the navigation pane ➜ select Excel Online. We’ll then be prompted to sign in to our SharePoint or OneDrive account where our Excel file is saved to select the Excel workbook and table with our data. This will generate us a fully functional three screen data entry app.
This is all connected to our Excel table, so any changes or additions from the app will show up in Excel. Power AutomatePower Automate is a cloud based tool for automating task between apps. But we can use the button trigger to make an automation that captures user input and adds the data into an Excel table. We’ll need to have our Excel workbook saved in OneDrive or SharePoint and have a table already setup with the fields we want to populate. To create our Power Automate data entry form.
This will open up the Power Automate builder and we can build our automation.
Search for the Excel connector and add the Add a row into a table action. If you’re on an Office 365 business account, use the Excel Online (Business) connectors, otherwise use the Excel Online (OneDrive) connectors. Now we can set up our Excel Add a row into a table step.
Now we can run our Flow from the Power Automate service.
We can also run this from our mobile device with the Power Automate apps.
Whichever way we run the flow, a few seconds later the data will appear in our Excel table. ConclusionsWhether we require a simple form or something more complex and customize-able, there is a solution for our data entry needs. We can quickly create something inside our workbook or use an external solution that connects to and loads data into Excel. We can even create forms that people outside our organization can use to populate our spreadsheets. Let me know in the comments what is your favourite data entry form option. About the AuthorJohn is a Microsoft MVP and qualified actuary with over 15 years of experience. He has worked in a variety of industries, including insurance, ad tech, and most recently Power Platform consulting. He is a keen problem solver and has a passion for using technology to make businesses more efficient. Can you automate data entry?Data entry automation is a smart way to manage your enterprise content. If you're spending too much time or money on manual data entry, it's time to let “robots” handle the repetitive work for you. You'll need to allocate fewer resources to document processing and administration — and eliminate errors as a result.
How do I create a dynamic data entry form in Excel?Data Entry Form in Excel. Right-click on any of the existing icons in the Quick Access Toolbar.. Click on 'Customize Quick Access Toolbar'.. In the 'Excel Options' dialog box that opens, select the 'All Commands' option from the drop-down.. Scroll down the list of commands and select 'Form'.. Click on the 'Add' button.. How do you automate data entry tasks?An end-to-end automated data entry process involves the following steps:. Uploading or adding a data source. ... . Pre-processing each file or document. ... . Recognizing & extracting the data of interest. ... . Validating the extracted data. ... . Sharing & entering the extracted data. ... . Greater accuracy. ... . Reduce overall costs. ... . Save time.. How do I create an automated form in Excel?Create an Automatic Form in Excel. Return to your data sheet.. Select all your data.. Select the entire first row and then press ctrl - shift -down arrow.. The entire range of your data will be selected, click the form button on your Quick Access Tool bar.. |