Selecting a Word

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

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

Determining the Hour of the Day

Need to know the current hour of the day? You can derive the information in your macros by using the Hour function, as ...

Discover More

Understanding Style Sets

When you display the Home tab of the ribbon, Word shows a variety of styles in the Styles group. These are Style Sets, as ...

Discover More

Squeezing Everything In

Do you have just a line or two of text that 'spills over' onto another printed page? Here are some ways you can compress ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Getting Rid of Spaces in Cells

Importing data into Excel that was generated in other programs can have some interesting side effects. For instance, you ...

Discover More

Quickly Updating Values

You can easily adjust the values in a range of cells by a certain amount. The key is to modify how you use the pasting ...

Discover More

Displaying Row and Column Labels

When you create a worksheet, it is common to place headings at the top of each column and the left of each row so 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 2 + 3?

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 © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.