How to select one or more cells in a spreadsheet program

Updated: 03/10/2024 by Computer Hope
Selected cell in a spreadsheet.

In a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, it is possible to select or highlight one or more cells, allowing you to apply formatting to those cells or copy the cells. To learn more about how to select cells, continue reading.

Select a single cell

To select a single cell in a worksheet, left-click the desired cell with your mouse. Once a single cell is selected, it becomes the active cell and appears bold or has a box surrounding the cell.

Tip

Use the keyboard arrow keys to move the selected cell (active cell). If nothing is contained in the cell, begin typing to insert text in the cell. To modify pre-existing data in that cell, press F2 on the keyboard.

If you need to select more than one cell, continue reading the next sections.

Select multiple individual cells

To select multiple individual cells in a worksheet, follow the steps below.

  1. Press and hold Ctrl.
  2. While holding Ctrl, click each cell you want to select.

Selected cells in a spreadsheet

As shown in the picture above, each selected cell is shaded to indicate it is selected.

Tip

To change the properties of the selected cells once highlighted (e.g., changing the cell color), right-click any of the highlighted cells and select Properties.

Note

When highlighting multiple cells, the active cell is also part of the highlighted cells. In our example above, cells B1, A2, C4, and B5 are all selected. Even though B1 is not shaded because it is active, it is considered a selected cell.

Select a range of cells

Use one of the options below to select a range of adjacent cells in a worksheet.

Option 1 - Drag mouse

  1. Click the first cell in the range you want to select.
  2. While pressing the left mouse button, drag the mouse cursor to the last cell in the range.

For example, to select cells A1 through A5, left-click the A1 cell, then drag the mouse to the A5 cell while still holding the left mouse button.

Select cells by dragging mouse

Option 2 - Shift click

  1. Click the first cell in the range you want to select.
  2. Press and hold Shift.
  3. While still pressing Shift, click the last cell in the range.

For example, to select cells A1 through E1, left-click the A1 cell, press and hold Shift, then click the E1 cell.

Select cells with Shift click

Using either of the options above, a range of cells should be selected, as shown in the pictures above.

Option 3 - Use the F8 key

  1. Press F8.
  2. Use the arrow keys to highlight all the cells you want highlighted. Alternatively, use the mouse to click the ending position of what you want highlighted.
  3. Once everything you want is highlighted, you can use another keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl+C, to copy the highlighted cells or right-click the selection.

Select all cells

To select all cells in a worksheet, follow the steps below.

  1. Move to the top row and left-most column of the worksheet.
  2. Click the square area with a shaded triangle, located above the "1" for the first row and to the left of the "A" column header. All cells in the worksheet are highlighted after clicking that square area.

Select all cells in Microsoft Excel

Tip

Press Ctrl+A to select all cells in a worksheet.