How to Edit Cell with Single Click in Excel (3 Easy Methods)

When we need to change something in a cell, we usually have to edit it. Therefore, it would be so hassle-free if we could edit a cell with just one click on the cell. If you are in search of such a thing, certainly this article would be beneficial to you. Here, we will take you through 3 easy and convenient methods on how to edit a cell with a single click in Excel.

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3 Methods to Edit Cell with Single Click in Excel

1. Clicking on Formula Bar after Selecting Cell

2. Using Keyboard Shortcut to Edit Cell with Single Click in Excel

3. Applying VBA Code

Why You Cannot Edit Cell in Excel

Editing in Formula Bar Directly

Conclusion

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You may download the following Excel workbook for better understanding and practice yourself.

Editing Cell with Single Click.xlsm

3 Methods to Edit Cell with Single Click in Excel

In Excel, you can edit individual cells one at a time. If you single click on a cell, the existing value will be overwritten at the time of typing. You might have faced this thing. So, normally we use double-clicking on a cell to do in-cell editing. But we can do this kind of work by clicking one time at that cell.

We’ve got a dataset of Attendance List of random students’ of a class. The cells in the 2nd column containing their Name have different types of typing errors.

So, we’ve to edit those cells. Here, we’ll show a handful of different methods of editing cells with a single click in Excel. So let’s go through them one by one.

1. Clicking on Formula Bar after Selecting Cell

You can edit cells in Excel using the Formula Bar. For performing this method, you should go through the procedures below.

Steps:

At the very beginning, click on the preferred cell that you want to edit. Then place your cursor on the Formula Bar and click the left button of the mouse once. You can see a blinking straight line appearing on the formula bar just at the end of your previous input for that cell.

Now you can move this blinking line with the help of your mouse or press the arrow keys on your keyboard and edit the data as per your requirement. After finishing the edit, press ENTER which will take the selection pane in the next cell down.

Correspondingly, edit the other cells down in a similar way.

2. Using Keyboard Shortcut to Edit Cell with Single Click in Excel

Another way of editing a cell with a single click is to use a keyboard shortcut. Pay attention to the process stated below.

Steps:

In the beginning, place your cursor on the cell to be edited and single click on the cell. This action makes the cell selected. Then, press the F2 key and you will see the blinking straight line just at the end of your previous input in that cell. This means now you can edit anything inside this cell.

The difference with the previous method is that here the blinking line appears in the cell, not in the Formula Bar.

Note: On Mac, use Ctrl + U to do the same task.

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3. Applying VBA Code

A distinct method of doing the same task is to apply the VBA code. The process is as follows.

Steps:

Click on the Sheet name and select View Code.

From the ribbon, click on the Insert tab and select Module.

Right away, a window appears on the right. Now, copy the following code and paste it into the window.

Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
     SendKeys "{F2}"
End Sub

Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range) is an event. From the name, we can easily understand that this event is triggered when we change the selection. In other words, if you move your cursor from Cell C5 to another cell, the code in this subroutine will run. Sendkeys “{F2}” means after every change of selection, the system will automatically press the F2 key once.

Lastly, select Run from the top ribbon. Then close the window and return to your VBA worksheet. With just a single click on a cell, you can see that the cell becomes editable immediately.

Read More: How to Edit Macros in Excel (2 Methods)

Why You Cannot Edit Cell in Excel

Usually, when we download an Excel file, it opens in PROTECTED VIEW. Therefore, you won’t be able to edit any of the cells in Excel. Because the Excel has been saved as read-only. To solve this problem, press the Enable Editing button on the right top of the Excel worksheet.

After that, you will be able to edit any cell in this workbook.

Editing in Formula Bar Directly

In our 2^nd method, we selected our cell first, then pressed the F2 button to edit the cell. Then a blinking straight line appeared in the cell. But we can change this phenomenon manually just by changing some options. We can make the blinking line appear in the formula bar directly after pressing the F2 key. Please follow us to do this.

Steps:

Go to the File tab from the ribbon.

From the File tab, select Options.

Instantly, a window named Excel Options opens. Now select Advanced > clear the Allow editing directly in cells check box > click OK.

At this point, if you select any cell and press the F2 key, you will see the blinking line directly inside the Formula Bar, not in the cell.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this article, we hope this was helpful. If you have any queries or suggestions, please let us know in the comment section. Please visit our website Exceldemy to explore more.