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

 

Method 1 – Using the Keyboard Shortcut 

Steps:

  • Select the cell or cell range you want to shift down.

selecting cells to shift cells down in excel using keyboard shortcut

  • Press the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+”+”.
  • The Insert box will pop up.
  • Select Shift cells down in this box and click on OK.

  • The dataset will now look like this.

shift cells down in excel using keyboard shortcut

Read More: How to Shift Cells Right in Excel


Method 2 – Using the Context Menu 

Steps:

  • Select a cell or a range of cells.

  • Right-click on the selection.
  • Choose the Insert option from the context menu.

context menu

This will shift the cells down in the Excel spreadsheet.

shift cells down in excel by applying context menu option


Method 3 – Using the Insert Command from Cells Dropdown 

Steps:

  • Select a cell or cell range.
  • Go to the Home tab.
  • Select the Insert command from Cells.
  • 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 Excel spreadsheet.

shift cells down in excel employing insert command


Method 4 – Using the Copy-Paste Feature

Steps:

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

  • Copy those cells by pressing Ctrl+C.
  • Select any cell in the row above where you want to insert the copied cells (e.g., cell B8).

copying selected cells

  • Select Insert from the Cells group of the Home tab on your ribbon.
  • Select Insert Copied Cells from the drop-down menu.

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

  • Select Shift cells down from the Insert box and click on OK.

The cells are now copied into cell B8, and the rest of the cells have been shifted down.

shift cells down in excel utilizing copy-paste feature


Method 5 – Shifting Rows Downward 

Steps:

  • Select any cell in the row above where you want another row (i.e., cell B10)

  • Go to the Home tab on your ribbon.
  • Select Insert from Cells.
  • Select Insert Sheet Rows from the drop-down menu.

commands for shifting rows downward

The new row has been inserted above the cell, and the rest of the cells have been shifted 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 the Formula

The following dataset contains formulas in column E.

Steps:

  • Select the column you want to shift (i.e., range E5:E12).
  • 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

  • Click on it and drag the cells down to where you want the range.

  • 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

Steps:

  • Select the row you want to shift down.

  • Hover your mouse over the border of the selection to notice the cursor style change.

cursor icon for shifting rows down in excel

  • 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

  • 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.


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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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