All Excel users must be able to activate the cells and enter data into the Excel worksheet. After all, these are the most basic Excel actions. However, many Excel novices do not fully understand the difference between the cell & # 39; The cell is in Edit mode & # 39; Even more Excel users do not often know all the different ways you can select a range of cells for an Excel cell or enter a cell's edit mode.
If you click a cell in the Excel worksheet, the cell is not in edit mode, simply Activated . As you start typing, while the cell is active, the input text replace Pressing the contents of the activated cell or the left, right, up, down arrow keys on the keyboard activates the activated cell (left, right, up, or down of the previously activated cell) Go to.
However, if there is a cell Edit mode , The rules will be changed. The cursor will appear in the cell (or formula bar) and everything you type added Move to the cell along the contents of the existing cell. Also, when the cell is in edit mode, pressing the right, left, up, down arrow keys on the keyboard moves the cursor within the cell.
So I revealed the difference between activated cells and cells in edit mode. How do you actually activate the range of cells and cells? You can use one of the three main methods:
- Single-click cell with mouse
- Use the left, right, up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to move from the current selection to the cell you want to activate
- In the name box & # 39 ;, enter a reference to the cell. On the upper left of practice - for example. To activate cell A2, enter "A2" in the Name box and press the return (or Enter) key.
It is highlighted in Excel with a thick black border, so you can easily check which cell is currently active.
In many cases, Excel requires you to select a series of cells. Even if you select a range of cells in Excel, only one of the cells in the range will be displayed Activated (Indicated by a thick black border). That is, entering data or text overwrites the contents of the active cell, pressing the arrow key on the keyboard activates different cells within the selected range.
There are several ways to select a range of cells. You can do one of the following:
- Using the mouse, click the starting point of the range and drag the range you want to select
- In the name box & # 39; enter a reference to the cell range. On the upper left of the worksheet - for example. To select cells A1 to D4, enter "A1: D4" in the Name box and press the return (or Enter) key.
- Activate the cell at the beginning of the range, then press the SHIFT key. With the SHIFT key selected, click the cell at the end of the range using the mouse.
- Activate the cell at the beginning of the range, then press the SHIFT key. With the SHIFT key selected, use the left, right, up, or down arrow keys on the keyboard to increase or decrease the selected range one at a time.
- Activate the cell at the beginning of the range, then press the Shift and Ctrl keys. With these keys still selected, use the left, right, up or down arrow keys on the keyboard to increase or decrease the selected range to the end of the current data set (the selection is the next empty It ends with a cell).
To select the entire row or column of a worksheet, click the line number on the left side of the worksheet or the column letters at the top of the worksheet, or in the upper left of the gray / worksheet to select the entire worksheet Blue rectangle.
Finally, I will look at three ways to put the cell into edit mode. You can do one of the following:
- Double click on a cell
Alternatively, select the cell you want to edit and do one of the following:
- Click the formula bar
- Press F2
In fact, you may think that you do not need to learn all the different ways of activation, selection and editing of cells. After all, as long as you know how to select a range of cells, how about learning the other four ways to do the same? However, if you use a lot of Excel, you can see that various methods are suitable for various situations. Overall, immediately lot Quickly select the most appropriate method for each opportunity
