Typing dates manually into Google Sheets is tiresome. There is another way!
Try this nifty trick that forces a cell to display a pop-up date picker box when you double click on it. The secret is to use the Data validation feature to limit the cell data to dates only. A special shout out to the lovely Amy, from our client Snowy Hydro, who shared this tip with me!
Here’s how to set it up:
1. Highlight the range of cells that you want to add a date picker too.
Tip: It’s best to do this before entering any data in the cells.
2. Select the Data menu > Data validation.
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.jp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/date-picker-sheets-1.png)
3. In the Criteria section, choose ‘Date’ from the drop-down list.
4. In the box that appears alongside ‘Date’, choose if you want to allow any date (leave it as ‘is valid date’) or a specific date range.
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.jp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/date-picker-sheets-2.png)
5. Click Save.
6. Double click on a cell in the range you added the validation to and watch as the date picker appears!
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.jp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/date-picker-sheets-3.png)
Visit our Learn on Demand platform to discover more helpful Google Sheets tips and tricks.