How to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard (9 Ways)

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Sometimes you need to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard Shortcuts When working with a large dataset. Keyboard Shortcuts make it easier to Navigate a Cell. In this article, we will learn how to select cells in Excel using several keyboard shortcuts.

Here we have a dataset of Six American Novel Name with Writers Name & Publishing Year. We will learn to Select various Cells in Excel Using Keyboard Shortcuts with this dataset.

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9 Ways to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard

Method 1. Select Adjacent Cells Using Keyboard

1.1. Select One Cell Up

1.2. Select One Cell Down

1.3. Select One Cell Right

1.4. Select One Cell Left

Method 2. Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Select Edge Cells Having No Empty Cell

Method 3. Select Edge Cell Using Keyboard Having Empty Cells

Method 4. Selecting First Cell & Last Used Cell in Excel

Method 5. Select Multiples Cells Using Keyboard Shortcut in Excel

5.1. Select Multiple Cells in Right Direction

5.2. To Select Multiple Cells in Down Direction

5.3. Selecting Multiple Cells in Up Direction

5.4. To Select Multiple Cells in Left Direction

Method 6. Selecting a Range of Cells

6.1. Selecting Range of Cells in Down Direction Using Keyboard

6.2. Selecting Range of Cells in Up Direction

6.3. Selecting Range of Cells in Left Direction Using keyboard

6.4. Selecting Range of Cells in Right Direction Using keyboard

Method 7. Using Keyboard Shortcut to Select All Used Cells in Excel

7.1. Select All Used Cells Till the End Cell Using Keyboard

7.2. Select All Used Cells Till the First Cell Using keyboard

Method 8. Selecting Non Contiguous Cells Using Keyboard in Excel

Method 9. Using Keyboard to Select Entire Row or Column in Excel

9.1. Select Entire Row Using keyboard

9.2. Select Entire Column Using Keyboard

Practice Section

Conclusion

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Select Cells Using Keyboard.xlsx

9 Ways to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard

Method 1. Select Adjacent Cells Using Keyboard

In this method I will show you How to Select Adjacent Cells Using Keyboard.

1.1. Select One Cell Up

Here, I will try to move the selection one Cell up by using keyboard shortcut.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell C7 & now you want to Select Cell C6. To move one Cell Up Press Up Arrow or press SHIFT + ENTER.

Following the above Shortcut will take you to one Cell Up.

1.2. Select One Cell Down

Now, I will try to move the selection one Cell Down by using keyboard shortcut.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at cell C5 you want to move one Cell down or in Cell C8. To move one Cell Down Press Down Arrow or press ENTER.

Following the above Shortcut will take you to one Cell Down.

1.3. Select One Cell Right

In this section, I will demonstrate how to move the selection one Cell Down by using the keyboard shortcut.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell C7 & now you want to Select Cell D7. To move one Cell Right Press Right Arrow or press TAB.

Following the above Shortcut will take you to one Cell Right.

1.4. Select One Cell Left

Here, I will try to move the selection one Cell Left by using the keyboard shortcut.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell C7 & now you want to Select Cell B7. To move one Cell Left Press Left Arrow or press SHIFT + TAB.

Following the above Shortcut will take you to one Cell Left.

Method 2. Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Select Edge Cells Having No Empty Cell

In this method, we will discuss how to Select Edge Cells without Empty Cells.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell B5 initially & you want to navigate Edges of your dataset having No Empty Cells. Following Shortcuts will help you to do so. I will show you to navigate the Edges in a cyclic manner.

To move Down Edge of the dataset: Press CTRL + Down Arrow.
To move Right Edge of the dataset: Press CTRL + Right Arrow.
For selecting Up Edge of the dataset: Press CTRL + Up Arrow.
To move left Edge of the dataset: Press CTRL + Left Arrow.

Method 3. Select Edge Cell Using Keyboard Having Empty Cells

Here I will show you how to Select Edge Cells with Empty Cells.

STEPS:

Suppose you have a dataset having Empty Cells. If you want to Select the Edge Cells of your dataset following Method 2’s Shortcut will work. But it will work in a slightly different way & now I will show you the difference.

Initially, you are at Cell C5 & you want to Select the Down Edge Cell of Column C.

Upon pressing CTRL + Down Arrow, It will take you to Cell C6 which is the last Non-empty Cell in the direction.
So CTRL + Arrow Key always takes you to the last Non-empty Cell.

Now, if you press CTRL + Down Arrow again, It will reach Cell C8 or the first non-empty Cell.
So we can say that, If your Adjacent Cell is an Empty Cell, Pressing CTRL + Arrow Key will take you to the first Non-empty Cell in the direction.

Finally pressing CTRL + Down Arrow again will take you to the Edge of Column C or Cell C10.

Method 4. Selecting First Cell & Last Used Cell in Excel

In this method, I will show you How to Select the First Cell & Last Used Cell Using Keyboard.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at the End of a big dataset & now you want to move to the Top. Scrolling with Mouse is very tedious for a big dataset.

In that case following the Keyboard Shortcut CTRL + Home will take you to the Top of your dataset.

If you want to move to the End of your dataset, Follow the keyboard Shortcut CTRL + End. It will take you to the last used Cell of your dataset.

Method 5. Select Multiples Cells Using Keyboard Shortcut in Excel

In this method, I will show you How to Select Multiple Cells Using Keyboard.

5.1. Select Multiple Cells in Right Direction

Here we will learn how to Select Multiple cells in Right direction.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell C7 & you want to Select the Right Cell or Cells of the same Row simultaneously. Let me explain it to you.

To do this you have to follow the Keyboard Shortcut SHIFT + Right Arrow.
To select another Cell in the same direction keep holding the SHIFT key while pressing Right Arrow

Now you will have both Cell C7 & Cell D7 selected.

5.2. To Select Multiple Cells in Down Direction

Now we will see how to Select Multiple cells in the Down direction.

STEPS:

If you are at Cell C7 & you want to Select the Down Cell or Cells of the same Column simultaneously you can do it by following the method explained below.

To do this you have to follow the Keyboard Shortcut SHIFT + Down Arrow.
Cell C9 is an Empty cell. So, SHIFT + Arrow Shortcut selects both Empty & non-Empty Cells.

To select Multiple numbers of Cells in the same direction keep holding the SHIFT key while pressing Down Arrow again to Select each cell.

5.3. Selecting Multiple Cells in Up Direction

Here we will learn how to Select Multiple cells in Up direction

STEPS:

Now, you are at Cell C7 & you want to Select the Up Cell or Cells of the same Column simultaneously.

To do this first select cell C7
Then, you have to follow the Keyboard Shortcut SHIFT + Up Arrow.

To Select another Cell in the same direction keep holding the SHIFT key while pressing Up Arrow each time to Select each Cell.

5.4. To Select Multiple Cells in Left Direction

Sometimes we need to Select Multiple Cells at Left. Now we will see how to Select Multiple cells in the left direction.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell D7 & you want to Select the LEFT Cell or Cells of the same Row simultaneously.
To do this you have to follow the Keyboard Shortcut SHIFT + Left Arrow.

To select another Cell in the same direction keep holding the SHIFT key while pressing Left Arrow each time to Select each Cell.

Similar Readings

Method 6. Selecting a Range of Cells

Suppose you want to Select a Range of Cells from your dataset instead of Selecting them one by one. In that case the CTRL + SHIFT + Arrow Shortcut Key can help you to Select a Range of Cells.

6.1. Selecting Range of Cells in Down Direction Using Keyboard

Here, I will show you How to Select a Range of Cells in Down Direction.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell B6 & you want to Select all Cells Down of the Same Column.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + Down Arrow

Now you will have a Selected Range of Cell B6:B10.

Now if you press CTRL + SHIFT + Down Arrow key again & if there is no non-Empty Cell in that direction, This Shortcut Key will Select all the Cells till the End of that Column.

6.2. Selecting Range of Cells in Up Direction

Now I will demonstrate how to Select a Range of Cells in Down Direction.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell C9 & you want to Select all Cells Up of the Same Column.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + Up Arrow

Now you will have a Selected Range of Cell C96:C4.

6.3. Selecting Range of Cells in Left Direction Using keyboard

Here I will demonstrate how to Select a Range of Cells in Left Direction.

STEPS:

Initially, you are at Cell D7 & you want to Select all Cells Left of the Same Row.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + Left Arrow

Now you will have a Selected Range of Cell D7:B7.

6.4. Selecting Range of Cells in Right Direction Using keyboard

In this section, we will see how to Select a Range of Cells in Left Direction.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell C7 & you want to Select all Cells Right of the Same Row.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + Right Arrow.

Now you will have a Selected Range of Cell C7:D7.

Now if you press CTRL + SHIFT + Right Arrow key again & if there is no non-Empty Cell in that direction, This Shortcut Key will Select all the Cells till the End of that Row.

Method 7. Using Keyboard Shortcut to Select All Used Cells in Excel

In this method, I will show you how you can select all used Cells Using multiple Keyboard Shortcuts.

7.1. Select All Used Cells Till the End Cell Using Keyboard

In this section, I will discuss how to Select All used Cells till the End.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell B8 & you want to Select All Used Cells till the End.
To have the desired Cells Selected press CTRL + SHIFT + End.

Now you will have All Cells Selected till the End.

7.2. Select All Used Cells Till the First Cell Using keyboard

Now I will discuss how to Select All used Cells till the First cell.

STEPS:

Suppose you are at Cell D13 & you want to Select All Used Cells till the First Cell.
To have the desired Cells Selected press CTRL + SHIFT + Home.

Now you will have All Cells Selected till the beginning.

Method 8. Selecting Non Contiguous Cells Using Keyboard in Excel

In this method, I will show you how you can Select Non Contiguous Cells.

STEPS:

Selecting the Non Contiguous Cells is very easy using CTRL Key.
Just keep pressing the CTRL key while Selecting desired Cells.
It does not matter if they are Contiguous or not, Empty or Not.

There is another way to Select Non Contiguous Cells without pressing CTRL Key.

STEPS:

First, select any Cell or Cells.
Then press SHIFT + F8. In this way, your selection will be locked.
Now you can click any Cell or Cells & all of them will be selected.
To unlock Selection again press SHIFT + F8.

Method 9. Using Keyboard to Select Entire Row or Column in Excel

In this method, I will show you how to select an Entire Row or Column Using Keyboard.

9.1. Select Entire Row Using keyboard

In this section, I will show you how you can Select Entire Row.

STEPS:

Initially I have selected Cell C7 & I want to Select all Cells of Row 7.
To Select all Cells of Row 7 press SHIFT + Spacebar.

Now we will have the entire Row 7 selected.

9.2. Select Entire Column Using Keyboard

In this section, I will show you how you can Select an Entire Column.

STEPS:

Initially, I have selected Cell C7 & I want to Select all Cells of Column C.
To Select all Cells of Column C press CTRL + Spacebar.

Now we will have the entire Column C selected.

Practice Section

Here I have provided a practice sheet for you. Try it!

Conclusion

In the article above we have learned several methods to Select Cell Using Keyboard. Applying those techniques in our daily life will make our job easier. I hope you enjoyed reading this article. If you have any query please leave a comment. Stay safe!

2 Comments

Colin Kinsella Mar 27, 2022 at 5:22 PM

Great Tutorial
Maybe I missed it.

I have multiple columns A to Z, each of different lengths (null cells within data and end of some columns).

I select B4 to E4
What shortcut will allow me to select all remaining rows down to last cell with data?
- Reply
  Arin Aug 21, 2022 at 1:33 PM
  
  Hi Colin Kinsella,
  Hope you are doing well.
  
  You can select multiple columns from A to Z having different lengths.
  Here, we created a dataset in Cell range A4:Z6. Then, we selected Cell B4:E4 similar to your dataset.
  
  After selecting Cell range B4:E4 or any other cells, press CTRL+A on your keyboard to select all remaining rows with data.
  
  Thanks.
  
  Regards,
  Arin Islam

How to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard (9 Ways)

Download Practice Workbook

9 Ways to Select Cells in Excel Using Keyboard

Method 1. Select Adjacent Cells Using Keyboard

1.1. Select One Cell Up

1.2. Select One Cell Down

1.3. Select One Cell Right

1.4. Select One Cell Left

Method 2. Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Select Edge Cells Having No Empty Cell

Method 3. Select Edge Cell Using Keyboard Having Empty Cells

Method 4. Selecting First Cell & Last Used Cell in Excel

Method 5. Select Multiples Cells Using Keyboard Shortcut in Excel

5.1. Select Multiple Cells in Right Direction

5.2. To Select Multiple Cells in Down Direction

5.3. Selecting Multiple Cells in Up Direction

5.4. To Select Multiple Cells in Left Direction

Method 6. Selecting a Range of Cells

6.1. Selecting Range of Cells in Down Direction Using Keyboard

6.2. Selecting Range of Cells in Up Direction

6.3. Selecting Range of Cells in Left Direction Using keyboard

6.4. Selecting Range of Cells in Right Direction Using keyboard

Method 7. Using Keyboard Shortcut to Select All Used Cells in Excel

7.1. Select All Used Cells Till the End Cell Using Keyboard

7.2. Select All Used Cells Till the First Cell Using keyboard

Method 8. Selecting Non Contiguous Cells Using Keyboard in Excel

Method 9. Using Keyboard to Select Entire Row or Column in Excel

9.1. Select Entire Row Using keyboard

9.2. Select Entire Column Using Keyboard

Practice Section

Conclusion

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