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Microsoft Excel 'Quick Tip'

Editing Using Your Keyboard

Entering and editing formulas are the two most common tasks in Excel. You are constantly clicking back and forth between the cell and the formula bar. I'm a big believer of knowing both a keyboard method and a mouse method for almost everything.

Here are some tricks that will allow you to edit a cell without reaching for your mouse.

  1. Use the arrow keys to move to the cell.
  2. Press the F2 key to enter edit mode.
  3. While in edit mode, use these tips to make changes.
    • Use the arrow keys if you need to select cells to use in your formula. When selecting cells, remember to press F2 to toggle between edit mode and select mode.
    • Press the HOME key to move the cursor to the beginning of the formula.
    • Press the END key to move the cursor to the end of the formula.
    • Hold down the CTRL key plus the left or right arrow to move quickly through the formula.
    • Hold down the SHIFT key and use the left or right key to highlight a part of your formula.
    • Press the END key and then CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to select the whole formula.
    • If you need to, you can copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V) parts of your formula.
  4. When you've finished making changes to your formula, press ENTER to accept the changes or press the ESC key to cancel changes (i.e. if you've made a mistake).

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