If I want to add a set of cells to a drop down list in Excel, that is no issue with the highlight feature:

However, let's say I want the list to contain only A, C, and E.
When I hold down the Ctrl key to select the individual cells (B2, B4 and B6), I get an error message saying I can't use reference operators on data validation criteria. How do I add the cells then without typing everything manually?

