Enabling the Developer tab

The menu across the top of the Excel screen is known as the ribbon. As you may have noticed, certain tabs appear and disappear from the ribbon based on context. For instance, a Table Design tab appears when you click on a Table in your workbook and vanishes when you click on any cell that is not part of a Table. The hidden Developer tab has commands related to creating macros, working with XML files, and creating Form Controls. You must enable the Developer tab if you wish to create Form Controls, as follows:

1. Choose File | Options | Customize Ribbon.
2. Click the Developer checkbox on the right-hand side, as shown in Figure 5.30, and then click OK.

Figure 5.30 – Enabling the Developer tab

Now that you have enabled the Developer tab in Excel’s ribbon, we can compare Form Controls to Data Validation when additional control or different interactivity is warranted.