How Do i create a list that will show in a dropdown box with the list being pulled from another tab and not the cell data format junk?

Question

How Do i create a list that will show in a dropdown box with the list being pulled from another tab and not the cell data format junk?
I currently run OS X 10.10.1
Now i have been trying to work on this for a while now and what i want to do should be simple but its apparently not.
Here is an example of what i want to happen.
I will have 2 tabs: Contact | Sales
Now Contacts will have the list of names and various information about a customer, While Sales will have one drop-down box for each Cell Row that will show the names of the person in tab contacts
for what i am wanting to do i cant use the data format pop-up menu because the list is edited everyday several times a day.
Now how do i do this, Excel can do this so how can numbers do it?

Answer 1

Hi Shegra,
Paste this into a applescript editor window and run it from there. In the script you may need to adjust the four properties to agree with your spreadsheet. Let me know if you have any questions.
quinn
Script starts:
-- This script converts column A in one table into an alphabetized list of popups. It copies the last cell in that column. Then reverts the column to text. It then refreshes popups in column A of a data table starting with a user defined row.
property DataEntrySheet : "Sheet 1" --name of sheet with popups to be refreshed
property DataEntryTable : "Sales" --name of table with popups to be refreshed
set copyRange to {}
property PopValueSheet : "Sheet 1" --name of sheet with popup values table
property PopValueTable : "Contacts" --name of table with popup values
set PopStartRow to {}
tell application "Numbers"
  set d to front document
  set ps to d's sheet PopValueSheet
  set pt to ps's table PopValueTable
  set s to d's sheet DataEntrySheet
  set t to s's table DataEntryTable
  set tf to t's filtered --this records filter setting on data Entry Table
  display dialog "Start from row #..." default answer "" with icon 1 -- with icon file "Path:to:my.icon.icns" --a Week # row
  set PopStartRow to {text returned of result}
  tell pt --convert list to alphabetized popups
  set ptRows to count rows
  set copyRange to ("A2:" & name of cell ptRows of column "A")
  set selection range to range copyRange
  set selection range's format to text
  sort by column 1 direction ascending
  set selection range's format to pop up menu
  -- popupsmade
  set selection range to cell ptRows of column 1 of pt
  set v to value of cell ptRows of pt
  end tell
  activate application "Numbers"
  tell application "System Events" to keystroke "c" using command down
  tell pt
  set selection range to range copyRange
  set selection range's format to text
  end tell
  tell t
  set filtered to false
  set tRows to count rows
  set pasteRange to ((name of cell PopStartRow of column "A") & ":" & (name of cell tRows of column "A"))
  set selection range to range pasteRange
  tell application "System Events" to keystroke "v" using command down
  set filtered to tf
  end tell
end tell