The database capabilities of Excel are very powerful. In fact, not only can Excel be used to create a simple searchable database, it also can be used to create a proper relational database.

How Excel makes a relational database Relational databases—databases structured to recognize relations among the information stored in them—are essential for working with large amounts of ...

Microsoft Excel worksheets are convenient places to store limited amounts of data. Excel is a spreadsheet application, but an Excel file can also serve as a database for your website if you can ...

Drop-down lists in Excel let you create a list of valid choices that you can select for a given field. We'll show you how to use tables, named ranges, formulas, data validation, and table styles.

A shared Microsoft 365 Lists list is more valuable if you can use it to update source data in Microsoft Excel.

Figure B How to use the UNIQUE () function in Excel If you’re using Microsoft 365 or one of the 2019 standalone versions of Excel, you can quickly create a dynamic list using the UNIQUE () function.