Saquib Ahmad Shuvo
If you are looking for some special tricks to solve the problem “Excel cursor stuck on the white cross”, you’ve come to the right place. In Microsoft Excel, there are numerous ways to fix this problem. This article will discuss six methods to resolve the problem. Let’s follow the complete guide to learn all of this.
6 Possible Solutions for Excel Cursor Stuck on White Cross
In the following section, we will use six effective and tricky methods to solve the problem “Excel cursor stuck on the white cross”. This section provides extensive details on six methods. You should learn and apply all of these to improve your thinking capability and Excel knowledge.
Solution 1: Enable Drag and Drop Option
If the cursor is stuck on the white cross, we can solve the problem by checking Enable fill handle and cell drag and drop. To do this we have to follow the following steps.
📌 Steps:
- First of all, you have to open File > Options.
- When the Excel Options window appears, select Advanced. Then, check Enable fill handle and cell drag and drop.
This method will solve the problem of “Excel cursor stuck on the white cross”.
Read More: [Fixed!] Excel Cursor Changed to Plus Sign (With Quick Solution)
Solution 2: Change Mouse Settings
Sometimes for some unknown reason enabling the built-in options feature will not solve the problem. In this case, you have to use the control panel. To do this we have to follow the following steps.
📌 Steps:
- First of all, go to Control Panel. Then, select Choose mouse settings.
- When the Mouse Properties window appears, then select Pointers. Then, select Normal Select from the Customize options.
This method will help you to solve the problem of “cursor stuck on the white cross”.
Read More: [Fixed!] Excel Cursor Locked in Select Mode (6 Possible Solutions)
Solution 3: Run Excel in Safe Mode
In order to solve this problem, one of the options is to run MS Excel in harmless mode, which allows it to run with restricted features and without adding any Excel add-ins. You have to follow the following process to start Excel in a safe mood.
📌 Steps:
- First of all, press and hold down the Ctrl key when starting Excel.
- In addition, press Windows +R, type excel.exe/safe, and press Enter.
Read More: [Fixed!] Excel Cursor Not Changing to Plus (7 Possible Solutions)
Solution 4: Repair Microsoft Office
We can also solve the problem by repairing Microsoft 365. To do this you have to follow the following process.
📌 Steps:
- Firstly, press ‘Windows+R’. Then, type appwiz.cpl. Next, press Enter. Or you can use a direct way to open Programs and Features in the Control panel.
- Right-click on Microsoft 365 and select Change.
Or you can follow the following steps to repair the Microsoft office.
- To repair, go to the Settings from the windows icon at the bottom-left of your screen.
- Then select Apps.
- After that, click on the Apps & Features from the left of the window.
- Then select your Microsoft Office app and click on Modify under it.
- Now click on Yes if a user account control box appears.
- Next, select Quick Repair or Online Repair depending on the one you prefer, and click on Repair.
Read More: How to Change Cursor from Plus to Arrow in Excel (5 Easy Methods)
Solution 5: Disable Extend Selection Mode
Sometimes the problem “Excel cursor stuck on the white cross” occurs if we accidentally press F8. As a consequence, Extend Selection will appear in the Status Bar. To resolve the problem we need to disable the Extend Selection mode. To do this we have to press F8 again. As a result, Extend Selection will disappear from the Status Bar.
Read More: [Fixed!] Excel Cursor Stuck in Drag Mode (5 Possible Solutions)
Solution 6: Check and Install Latest Updates
If any of the above steps aren’t working try searching for Microsoft office updates and stay up to date with the software. Sometimes the little bugs and irregularities get eliminated by new updates. Then again, if you are up to date with the updates, then it might be time for a clean reinstallation of the software. By installing the updated version we can solve the problem. To install the updated version you have to follow the following process.
📌 Steps:
- Firstly, in excel you have to open File > Account.
- Next, select Update Options, and click on Update Now.
Conclusion
That’s the end of today’s session. I strongly believe that from now, you may solve the problem ‘Excel cursor stuck on the white cross”. If you have any queries or recommendations, please share them in the comments section below.
Don’t forget to check our website Exceldemy.com for various Excel-related problems and solutions. Keep learning new methods and keep growing!
The most likely issue is you need to change the zoom. The black cross then will appear. I was at 120%, changed to 110% and the cross appeared for two columns, but not two others. I then zoomed to 100% and it worked for the others. See https://superuser.com/questions/1481984/dragging-the-fill-handle-in-microsoft-excel-white-gloved-hand-shows-up-instead-o
Hello rick, Thanks for your valuable feedback.
01/04/23 Large white cross suddenly appeared on Excel spreadsheet. It is on existing documents & on new blank spreadsheets. None of your solutions resolved the issue. It does not act like a pointer but if I click a cell and then pull the cross it will highlight that area. I can toggle F8 & the words “extend selection” appears or disappears in the bottom green bar so that feature does not seem to be stuck from the F8 key. MS Office Home & Student 2013/ Excel 2013. 15.0.5511.1000 1.44 MB I have done both a quick repair and an online repair with the online repair seeming to reinstall the program. I still have the big white cross on the spreadsheet. This program was probably installed 6-7 years ago & this is a new problem within the last 2-3 days.
Greetings. Thank you for your question. If any of the above steps aren’t working, try searching for Microsoft Office updates and staying up-to-date with the software, or install Microsoft 365. Sometimes the little bugs and irregularities get eliminated by new updates. Then again, if you are up to date with the updates, then it might be time for a clean reinstallation of the software. By installing the updated version, you can solve the problem. To install the updated version, you have to follow the following process:
Firstly, in Excel, you have to open File > Account.
Next, select Update Options, and click on Update Now.