Moving and Selecting Cells in Excel
August 29th, 2005Moving to different cells using the mouse is all well and good, but what happens when you have a list with 5,000 odd rows? Moving to the end of the list or, worse, highlighting to the end of the list is cumbersome with the mouse. (See the end of this tip for an exception.)
The solution is to use the END key. The END key is used differently in Excel from other programs. The behavior of the End key is taken from Lotus 1-2-3 so if you know that program, you can expect Excel to behave the same way.
To use the END key to jump:
1. Tap the END key.
2. Tap any arrow key. (Make sure NUM LOCK is not on if you use the keypad.)
3. The current cell will jump in that direction. Excel will stop when:
• It reaches a blank cell.
• It reaches the edge of the spreadsheet.
• It starts in a blank cell and it reaches a cell containing text.
To get to the end of a range containing blank cells, you may have to repeat the END key operation until you reach the last cell you want.
Keep in mind that using the END key is a sequential operation: you tap the END, then tap the arrow. You do not hold the END down and tap the arrow key simultaneously.
To use the END key to highlight:
1. Hold down the Shift key.
2. Tap the END key.
3. Tap any arrow key, keeping the SHIFT key held down.
4. The current cell will jump in that direction, highlighting as it moves.
Now that you’ve learned all of that, if you have Excel 2003, you can use the mouse to jump like the END key:
1. Put your mouse on the edge of the cell in the direction you want to jump. (If you want to jump down, place your cursor on the bottom edge of the cell.)
2. A four-way arrow will appear.
3. Double-click. The current cell will jump the same as it does with the END key.
If you hold down the SHIFT key when you double-click, Excel will highlight as it jumps.
One Response to “Moving and Selecting Cells in Excel”
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December 3rd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Is there a way to turn the mouse “double click on edge of cell to emulate END key” feature off? I find it extremely frustrating. Frequently I’m in the middle of editing a series of cells when I accidently click slightly off center on a cell, and instantly I’m thrown to the bottom of the document, forcing me to waste time and search carefully through to get back to where I was.