Reference external data in drop-down lists

Windows 10
MS Office 2007 Enterprise


I'm prepping for the Excel Expert 2007 exam & one of the things I need to know is how to "Reference external data in drop-down lists" (it's in the 'Capture Data' section).

I'm not 100% clear about what that means.......I know how to create a data validation drop-down list that references data in another workbook, but is it possible to do it with data from a non-spreadsheet file e.g word or access (or even a non MS Office file)? If so how do I do so?

Just to be clear - I know I can import data from non-spreadsheet external sources (data tab > get external data), but that seems to just put the data into visible cells & anyway, once it's imported it's no longer external data, it's how to reference data in a seperate non-excel file in a drop down list that I'm asking about.

TIA

Fair point about having forgotten the rules, but what would you do if you you couldn't find a answer to your question anywhere, or figure it out, & were getting no response on one forum....wouldn't you want to try other forums?

Thanks