How to Create a Date Picker in Google Sheets
Google Sheets is a versatile tool that supports various data types. One such data type is dates, which you can type in manually, or, better, using a date picker. A date picker, also known as a date selector or calendar dropdown, helps inputting dates correctly and consistently.
![Youtube video How to create a date picker in Google Sheets](/images/youtube-covers/how-to-create-a-date-picker.png)
Here’s how you can create a date picker in Google Sheets:
Step 1: Select the Cell(s)
Click on the cell or select the range of cells where you want to enable the date picker.
Step 2: Navigate to Data Validation
To open Data Validation section either:
- go to the Data menu, and then click on Data validation, or
Open data validation section from the main menu - right click on the selected cell(s), hover over View more cell actions, and select Data validation.
Open data validation section from the context menu
Step 3: Create Data Validation Rule
Click on + Add Rule then in the Criteria dropdown select Is a valid date. If the cell should have constrains on the date, you can select any other option: Date is before, Date is between, etc.
![Date picker data validation rule](/google-sheets/data-validation/how-to-create-a-date-picker/date-picker-validation-rule.png)
Step 4: Customize Validation Behavior (Optional)
Click on Advanced options to set help text displayed to the user if the data is invalid and how should the validation look like: show a warning or reject the input altogether.
![Advanced settings of the date picker data validation rule](/google-sheets/data-validation/how-to-create-a-date-picker/date-picker-validation-rule-advanced.png)
At the moment of writing, Google Sheets displays that help message only why validation is in the rejection mode.
![Error message when data validation rule rejects the input](/google-sheets/data-validation/how-to-create-a-date-picker/data-validation-error-message.png)
Step 5: Save
Click on Save to apply the data validation to the selected cells. Now, whenever you or someone double clicks on the cell(s), a date picker will appear to help select a date.
![Google Sheets date picker dropdown](/google-sheets/data-validation/how-to-create-a-date-picker/google-sheets-date-picker-dropdown.png)
The date picker in Google Sheets is a straightforward yet powerful tool to standardize date input, ensuring data consistency across your sheets. By following the above steps, you can easily implement a date picker in your Google Sheets, enhancing the usability and accuracy of date-related data entries.