Picking a Contiguous Range of Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 16, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There are many times when you are working with Excel when you need to select a range of cells. This is very easy to do using either the keyboard, the mouse, or a combination of both.

The first step in selecting a range of cells is to select the first cell in the range. With the cell selected you are ready to proceed.

  • Using the keyboard, you can hold down the Shift key as you use the navigation keys (up, down, left, and right arrows) to extend the range.
  • Using the mouse, you can click on the first cell and hold down the mouse button as you drag the mouse to extend the range.
  • Using the keyboard and mouse, you can hold down the Shift key as you click on the cell that defines the opposite corner of the range you want selected.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1966) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Getting Rid of Many Hyperlinks

Got a bunch of hyperlinks you need to get rid of? Here's a handy (and simple) macro that can do the task for you.

Discover More

Skipping Rows when Filling

Using the fill handle is a great way to quickly fill a range of cells with values. Sometimes, however, the way to fill ...

Discover More

Extracting a Pattern from within Text

If you have a large amount of data in a worksheet and you want to extract information from the text that meets certain ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Shortcut for Selecting a Data Range

Want to select all the data in a contiguous section of a worksheet? The shortcut discussed in this tip makes it very easy.

Discover More

Synchronizing Lists

Two lists of similar data can be challenging to synchronize. Here are some ways that you can align data in two different ...

Discover More

Changing Multiple Cells at Once

Excel includes several different methods of editing information in your cells. If you want to edit multiple cells all at ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 6 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.