The user's frustration is entirely justified, but the real problem isn't the tool, it's the approach. They're trying to force a form control box to behave like a native cell element, and the moment you place a floating control over a cell, you've already lost the ability to style that cell's content or apply conditional formatting to it. The box sits on top, opaque and uncooperative, hiding the very data it's supposed to surface. That's not a limitation of their skill; it's a fundamental design mismatch between what form controls are built for and what the user actually needs.
Here's what they actually want: a dropdown that shows a permanent arrow, displays the selected value, and changes color based on that value's status. That's a completely reasonable request, and it's achievable, just not with the tools they've been wrestling with. The form control route is a dead end because it doesn't support cell-level formatting. The data validation route gives them the arrow and the dropdown behavior, but it doesn't natively support conditional formatting based on the selected value. So the solution isn't to keep fighting the form control; it's to step back and use the right combination of features.
The practical path forward is to use data validation for the dropdown itself, then apply conditional formatting rules directly to the cell using a formula that references the cell's value. For example, if the cell contains "Done," format it green; if "In Progress," yellow; if "Not Done," red. That gives them the arrow, the dropdown, and the color coding, all in one cell, all visible, all working together. The form control box becomes unnecessary. It's a simpler setup, and it respects the cell's native behavior instead of fighting it.
The lesson here isn't about finding a workaround for a broken feature; it's about recognizing when you're using the wrong tool for the job. Form controls have their place, but they're not designed for interactive, format-aware data entry. Data validation, combined with conditional formatting, is the right fit for this use case. So if you're stuck in a similar situation, stop trying to edit the form control's fill or text. Instead, remove it, switch to data validation, and let the cell's own formatting rules do the visual heavy lifting. That's how you get the permanent arrow, the visible value, and the color coding, without hiding anything.