On focus after tabbing of Excel drop down, automatically show list for selection

Question

I have some data validation drop down lists in excel, I can tab through all the lists but I have to press alt + down arrow to show the list, Is their a way it can be automatically shown as soon as I focus on the tab.
So on focus of the drop down list, I would like the list to appear So that I can select it with the arrow down key and hit enter to select it.
Any other helpful tips for drop down lists and VBA would be great!

Answer 1

edit: still using VBA send keys.

On the sheet where the data validation cell resides (assumed it is cells A1:C1 on Sheet1), put in the following code in the Microsoft Excel Sheet1 Module (the module that holds the VBA code that is related to the first sheet)

Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
    On Error GoTo Err1:

    If Target = Range("A1") Then
        Application.SendKeys ("%{UP}")
    End If

    If Target = Range("B1") Then
        Application.SendKeys ("%{UP}")
    End If

    If Target = Range("C1") Then
        Application.SendKeys ("%{UP}")
    End If

Err1:
    'do nothing
End Sub

Answer 2

I found this helpful but would like to pass on a couple of observations.

1. Using

   If Target.Cells.Count = 1 Then

   If Target.Validation.InCellDropdown = True Then

in the event will apply this to all validation drop lists on the sheet rather than listing the individual cells. You need the first if to avoid an error caused by selecting multiple cells.

1. Beware of send keys being called twice in a row. It turns your num lock off and I had to add an API call to turn it back on again.

I hope this helps others