Selecting a Word

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 5, 2024)

If you are editing the contents of a cell that contains text, there may be times when you want to select a single word in the cell. Excel provides a simple two-step process to select an entire word:

  1. Select the cell you want to edit.
  2. Using the mouse pointer, point in the formula bar to the word you want to select.
  3. Double-click on the mouse.

If you want to select additional words, hold down the mouse button after the second click and drag the mouse. Excel will add one word at a time to your selection. Once your selection is made, you are able to do any other editing function on that word.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2027) 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

Deleting Rows Containing Struck-Through Text

Excel makes it easy to delete rows in a worksheet, but it can be more difficult to figure how to delete rows if you only ...

Discover More

Determining the Used Range

You may have a need to determine the range occupied by data within a worksheet. The approach you take in devising a ...

Discover More

Solving a Quadratic Equation

One of the staples of high school algebra classes is the quadratic equation. If you need to solve such equations in ...

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)

Noting When a Workbook was Changed

Do you need to know when a workbook was last changed? There are a couple of ways you can go about keeping track of the ...

Discover More

Converting Text to Values

When you import information originating in a different program, Excel may not do the best job at figuring out what ...

Discover More

Finding Wayward Links

Combining workbooks that have cross-links to each other can offer some special challenges. This tip examines how you can ...

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 three less than 4?

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.