Controlling Where You Edit Cell Contents

Summary: Editing information in a worksheet can be done in two places: in the Formula bar or in the cell itself. You can turn off the ability to edit in the cell by making one small change in Excel's configuration parameters. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

By default, Excel allows you to edit cell information either in the Formula bar or in the cell itself. (Select the cell and press F2, or simply double-click on a cell.) You may want to turn the in-cell editing feature off, however. To do this, you can follow these steps if you are using a version of Excel prior to Excel 2007:

Select Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
Make sure the Edit tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Clear the Edit Directly In Cell check box to turn off in-cell editing.
Click on OK.

If you are using Excel 2007, then you should follow these steps, instead:

Click the Office button and then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.
Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
In the Editing Options section, clear the Allow Editing Directly in Cells check box.
Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3023) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Controlling Where You Edit Cell Contents