Select Cells using keyboard and Mouse in Excel 2007


To select or activate specific cells or a group of cells, we can use variety of ways to go through them. Some of them are listed and explained below.

1. The Name Box
Like "Go to" explained in previous post, the NAME Box can also be used to go to a specific cell. Just type the cell you want to go to in the NAME box and then press Enter.



2. Select last (or first) cell in a range.
 Use any of the keyboard combinations to move to the first (or last) cell in a range:
   i. Ctrl+Down Arrow --> Move to last cell vertically (Alternate: [End] then Down Arrow)
   ii. Ctrl+Up Arrow --> Move to first cell vertically (Alternate: [End] then Up Arrow)
   iii. Ctrl+Right Arrow --> Move to last cell horizontally (Alternate: [End] then Right Arrow)
   iv. Ctrl+Left Arrow --> Move to last cell horizontally (Alternate: [End] then Left Arrow)



3. Select the last cell of worksheet in used range.
  As we keep on enter the data in a worksheet, Excel keeps on storing the address of the last used cell. To find out which cell is the last used cell in the used area in active worksheet,
    a. Using Keyboard
        i. Press Ctrl+End key combination.
    b. Using Mouse
        i. Click Home
        ii. Click Find & Select
        iii. Click "Go to Special..."
        iv. Select "Last cell"
        v. Click Ok.



4. Select the first cell (A1) of Worksheet.
    Press Ctrl+Home key combination.



5. Select a group of cells / Select an contiguous range area of worksheet.
    a. Using Mouse
        i. Select top-left cell of the desired range to be selected.
        ii. Press Left button of mouse and don't release it until asked.
        iii. Keep moving mouse and you can see the selected range area in different color.
        iv. Reach to the bottom-left cell of the desired range.
        v. Release the left mouse button.
    b. Using Keyboard
        i. Select top-left cell of the desired range to be selected.
        ii. Press F8 key to anchor the cursor.
        iii. Select bottom-left cell of the desired range.
        iv. Press Esc.



6. Select Non-adjacent cells.
    a. Using Mouse
        i. Select top-left cell of the desired range to be selected.
        ii. Press Ctrl and don't release it until asked.
        iii. Select desired ranges.
        iv. Release the Ctrl button.
    b. Using Keyboard
        i. Press Shift-F8 key to anchor the cursor. Sentence "Add to selection" will appear in status bar.
        ii. Select desired ranges.
        iii. and when you're done, press Esc to toggle off the option of non-contiguous selection.



7. Select Horizontal range of adjacent cells.
   Use any of the keyboard combinations to select the horizontal range of adjacent cells:
        i. Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow --> Select horizontal range of adjacent cells which contains data from left to right.
        ii. Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow --> Select horizontal range of adjacent cells which contains data from right to left.



8. Select vertical range of adjacent cells.
    Use any of the keyboard combinations to select the vertical range of adjacent cells:
        i. Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow --> Select vertical range of adjacent cells which contains data from bottom to top.
        ii. Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow --> Select vertical range of adjacent cells which contains data from top to bottom.



9. Select the current region.
    Continuous range of cells that contains data around the selection (including the selection) is termed as current region. thus, current region is always enclosed by either blank rows or blank columns or blank cells or all.
    a. Using Keyboard
        i. Press Ctrl+Shift+8.
    b. Using Mouse
        i. Click Home
        ii. Click Find & Select
        iii. Click "Go to Special..."
        iv. Select "Current region"
        v. Click Ok.


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