How to Shift Cells Down in Excel (5 Easy Methods)

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In data entry practice, we regularly need to add new entries between rows. Adding new rows or shifting cells down is very important for adding new entries in between a dataset. In this tutorial, we will discuss how to shift cells down in Excel.

In this tutorial, we will be discussing a total of five different ways you can shift cells down in Excel. We will perform all of them in the following dataset.

dataset to shift cells down in excel

Here, we have designated each of them in their own subsections. Keep reading to see how each of them works, or find the one you need from the table above.


1. Using Keyboard Shortcut to Shift Cells Down in Excel

If you need an efficient and time-saving way, this shortcut will match your demand perfectly. It varies whether you’re on Windows or Mac.  For Mac, hold down the option key while pressing the return key. The following steps are for windows:

Steps:

  • First, select the cell or cell range you want to push down.

selecting cells to shift cells down in excel using keyboard shortcut

  • Then press the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+”+” on your keyboard.
  • As a result, the Insert box will pop up.
  • Now select Shift cells down in this box and click on OK.

  • Finally, the dataset will now look like this.

shift cells down in excel using keyboard shortcut

Read More: How to Shift Cells Right in Excel


2. Applying Context Menu to Shift Cells Down in Excel

Right-clicking, also called secondary clicking, refers to pressing the right button of the mouse. It makes workflow faster and reduces the time spent looking over a tab or ribbon. Follow these steps for the procedure.

Steps:

  • First, select the cell or a collection of cells (cell range).

  • Then right-click on the selection.
  • After that, choose the Insert option from the context menu.

context menu

Thus you will see this will shift the cells down in the Excel spreadsheet.

shift cells down in excel by applying context menu option


3. Using Insert Command from Cells Dropdown for Shifting Cells Down

There is an Insert command on the Home tab. You can utilize the feature to shift cells down in Excel.

Steps:

  • First, select the cell or cell range.
  • Then go to the Home tab of your ribbon.
  • Now select the Insert command from the Cells group section.
  • After that, select Insert Cells from the drop-down menu.

commands to shift cells down in excel

As a result, the cells will now shift down on the same Excel spreadsheet.

shift cells down in excel employing insert command


4. Shifting Cells Down in Excel Through Copy-Paste Feature

We can use the copy-paste feature along with shifting cells downwards in Excel. This is helpful when we have to insert an already existing row in the dataset and we need them in between rows. In this way, we do not have to manually enter those values again or copy-paste them afterward. Follow these steps to shift cells down along with copy-paste with this helpful feature in Excel.

Steps:

  • First, select the cells you want to insert. Here, we are selecting the last two rows of the dataset.

  • Now copy those cells by pressing Ctrl+C on your keyboard.
  • Then select any cell in the row before which you want to insert the copied cells. We are selecting cell B8 for the demonstration.

copying selected cells

  • After that, select Insert from the Cells group of the Home tab on your ribbon.
  • Next, select Insert Copied Cells from the drop-down menu.

commands for copy-paste feature to shift cells down in excel

  • Finally, select Shift cells down from the Insert box and click on OK.

Then Excel will paste those cells before cell B8 and shift the rest of the cells down.

shift cells down in excel utilizing copy-paste feature


5. Shifting Rows Downward in Excel

Sometimes you may require to shift a collection of horizontal cells (also called a row) down in a row. For this, you have to follow the following procedure.

Steps:

  • First, select any cell in the row before which you want another row. We are selecting cell B10 for the demonstration.

  • After that, go to the Home tab on your ribbon.
  • Then select Insert from the Cells group section.
  • Now select Insert Sheet Rows from the drop-down menu.

commands for shifting rows downward

Finally, Excel will insert a new row before the cell and shift the rest of the cells down.

shift cells down in excel by shifting rows downward

Read More: How to Shift Cells Up in Excel


How to Shift Cells Down in Excel Without Changing Formula

Normally Formulas are associated with the referenced cell but for any reason or circumstance if you want or wish to shift cells down in Excel without changing the formulas then you are allowed to do it by following certain ways.

Let’s see the following dataset containing formulas in column E.

You can follow these steps to shift cells down in Excel without changing any formula.

Steps:

  • First, select the column you want to shift. We are selecting the range E5:E12 for the demonstration.
  • Then move your cursor to the edge of the selection (not in the corners) and you will notice the cursor style changing.

cursor for shifting cells down without changing formula in excel

  • Now click on it and drag the cells down to where you want the range to be.

  • After that, release the click.

This will shift these cells down in Excel without changing the formula.

shifting cells down without changing formula in excel


How to Shift Rows Down in Excel

Now suppose you want to rearrange the cells. You want to shift one of the rows in a dataset up/down and the rest down/up in Excel. You can achieve that with another trick too. There is a feature- holding the Shift key and dragging your cells to reposition your cells. You can use this to your advantage and shift rows or cells down in Excel.

Follow these steps for more details of the process.

Steps:

  • First, select the row you want to push down.

  • Then hover your mouse over the border of the selection and you will notice the cursor style change.

cursor icon for shifting rows down in excel

  • While the cursor is in this style, press Shift on your keyboard and click and drag the selection down to the position where you want the selection to be.

shifting rows down in excel visuals

  • Now release the mouse.

rows shifted down in excel

This will shift any number of selected rows down in Excel without creating new rows or changing the order of the other values in the dataset.


Download Practice Workbook

You can download the workbook used for the demonstration with all the examples from the link below.


Conclusion

It’s crucial to shift cells down in an efficient way. Now you have these ways, you’ll have no trouble shifting cells down. Thank you for reading this article and stay tuned for our next post. If you have any queries or opinions, please share them in the comments section below.


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Md. Abdul Kader
Md. Abdul Kader

MD. ABDUL KADER is an engineer with a talent for Excel and a passion for VBA programming. To him, programming is like a time-saving wizard, making data manipulation, file handling, and internet interactions a breeze. His skill set extends to SWM, GIS, RS, and SPSS. He holds a B.Sc in Urban & Regional Planning from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and has shifted to become a content developer. In this role, he crafts technical content centred around... Read Full Bio

1 Comment
  1. Alt+enter worked for me, but then a few hours later it doesn’t. When I press alt+enter it either opens a new book or closes the current one. Then I restarted my laptop and now it doesn’t do anything

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