Error Handling Using the Error Alert Page

Picture of the Error Alert page in the Data Validation dialog box in Excel

1. Press CTRL+TAB to move to the next page of the multi-page dialog box, the Error Alert page.
2. Press TAB to move to the first check box, "Show error alert after invalid data is entered" and make sure it is checked.
3. Press TAB again to move to the Style combo box. There are three choices here, Stop, Warning, and Information.

Stop Error

The Stop error choice does not allow any other input than what was set in the validation criteria established previously. If you choose this item and incorrect data is placed in the cell, a dialog box with title and text of your choosing opens. The only choices for this dialog box are to either Retry the input or Cancel out of the input, with Retry as the default button.

Warning Error

The Warning error choice gives users greater flexibility for input than what you might normally allow. It opens a dialog box with a title and text warning of your choosing. The choices for this dialog box are Yes, No, and Cancel, with No as the default button.

Information Error

The Information error choice also gives users greater flexibility for input than what you might normally allow. It also opens a dialog box with a title and text warning of your choosing. The choices for this dialog box are OK and Cancel, with OK as the default button.

1. For now, make sure Stop is selected and press TAB to move to the next control. Focus moves to the Title edit box. As mentioned previously, if the title is redundant, leave it blank. This is, of course, an option some people may choose to use.
2. Press TAB to move to the next control. Focus moves to the Error Message edit box, which is a multi-line edit box. This edit box has a maximum of 225 characters.

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