How to use form controls to create an order sheet in Excel

Computers, the Internet, and the large number of programs available to all people have been of great help when it comes to working. The programs that are part of Microsoft Office does not I am proof.

Excel a favorite

In addition to Microsoft Word, Excel is one of the most used programs in the world, its interface makes available to users a wide range of options and tools that allow you to do really amazing things, even working with spreadsheets with the Play mobile application.




Without a doubt, one of the most popular programs interesting and useful of the Office suite. Having basic knowledge about this program is considered a requirement for business administration related job postings.

Much more than a spreadsheet

Its interface hides a large number of tricks and formulas for your spreadsheet that many may know about, but few can handle it well enough to make them part of their daily life. In this opportunity you will learn something on the use of form controls.

How to use form controls to create an order sheet in Excel

What are they and what are they for?

These tools are objects, which you can place in one of the sheets of your Excel workbook or even via macros in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) which help you have more control over the content you insert into your file. Through this option, users can select items from a predefined list or launch macros much easier.

How to use them?

To use form controls, the tab must be Developer either enabled within Excel. If you don't have it, you can activate it in the following way:


  • Right-click on the ribbon.
  • Go to Customize ribbon.
  • Check the box Developer and press Accept.
  • Enter the card Developer, placing the option Inserisci in the central part of the toolbar. In this way, different options offered by the form controls will appear on your screen, selecting the one that best suits your idea.

The use of controls in order forms

If you want to have a greater control over the sales of your productsTaking into account your customer database, the most used object in form checking is the combo box.



  1. Once you have drawn the combo box in the area you have assigned within your order sheet, you must configure the properties of the object.
  2. Right-click on the box and select the control format.
  3. A box will appear in which you will have to choose the input range, in this case it should be the sheet where the databases or the names of your customers are located.
  4. Select all the cells which contain the information you want to take into account for the input range.
  5. For the second box, cell link, you can select any cell outside the order sheet.
  6. Click accept.

In this way, you can go to the combo box and a menu will appear with all the names of your customers or products that you have selected from the database.


How to use form controls to create an order sheet in Excel

Complete your order form

In order not to leave the address or telephone areas empty e then integrate your customer data, there is another trick you can use to make your spreadsheet as customizable as possible. To do this, you will need the following formula:


= INDEX (array, num_line, [num_column])

  • For example, for applying this formula, once you write »= INDEX («, the matrix will be all the cells where you have your entire customer database.
  • For the row number, please select the part you chose for linking cells in the process above.
  • Finally, for the column number, write the number where your customers' addresses are located.

Repeat for phones and any other sections you include on the order form. This way, you will establish complete control over all sales you have done during the day, week or month using these amazing tools that Microsoft Excel offers, such as locking, securing and unprotecting Excel spreadsheet sheets.



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