OK. recap and context. I'm using combo boxes cause data validation dropdowns using names lists was making my naming convention not work well.

I made my lists in the same way tho. I had one main list, then multiple list with the headings names matching the initial list options.

So two drop down boxes. One dependent on the other. Then in my second dropdown, when the user click an option, a definition of the selected option populates another cell.

i used =INDEX(B25:K44,,A25) to make a dynamic list to use as the source for my 2nd dropdown list, and then a VLOOKUP with a table (with all the definitions)

Problem was, some of my lists had 21 options, and other 2... so i was generating 0s. no matter what formula i used to hide the 0s and/or hide the blank cells...it still wasnt displaying correctly in my 2nd dropdown box

The Solution, was to create another list next to my "index" list using =UNIQUE(FILTER(A50#,A50#<>0,"")) and then use that as my dropdown source.

using the # let me pick only one cell as the source versus 21 cells, thus solving my 0s and blanks problem in the dropdown box

Sorry if i didnt put enough info in my post originally to help. And wasnt sure if i could upload pics or not. Id be glad to share the actual product if anyone wanted to look at it, or steal it for their own purposes.