Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Editing the Same Cell in Multiple Sheets.

Editing the Same Cell in Multiple Sheets

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 4, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


12

It is not unusual for all the worksheets in a particular workbook to be very much the same as each other. For instance, you might have a workbook that contains your annual budget data. Each worksheet in the workbook is devoted to a different month of the year. Each worksheet contains the same rows, the same columns, and the same formulas. The only thing that may be different is the heading on each worksheet—along with the raw data for each month, of course.

If your worksheets are very similar to each other, Excel provides a very easy way to modify the contents of a particular cell on each workbook, all at the same time. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Select the first workbook in the series that you want to edit.
  2. Hold down the Shift key as you click on the tab for the last worksheet in the series you want to edit. A range of worksheets should now be selected. Excel also adds the word [Group] to the title bar to indicate you have a group of worksheets selected.
  3. Make your changes to the worksheet shown on the screen. Your changes are automatically made on every other sheet in the range as well.
  4. When done, select a single worksheet by clicking on its tab. (Click on the tab of a worksheet other than the first in the range.)

Step 3 may sound a bit confusing, but it isn't really. If you have a range of worksheets selected, and you enter a formula in cell D4, then the same formula is entered in cell D4 on each of the selected worksheets. This is very powerful, and Excel won't notify you if you are going to overwrite an existing formula on one of the worksheets. That is why step 4—deselecting the worksheets—is so important. If you forget to do so, you can easily mess up all your worksheets without intending to do so.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2605) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Editing the Same Cell in Multiple Sheets.

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. ...

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Comments

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What is three minus 1?

2021-05-25 07:44:33

Supriya

Great ...Thankyou very much


2020-06-19 22:28:00

Jana

I just want to say Thank You! You just saved me so much time!!!


2019-01-24 12:33:41

Manuel Ulliac

Just a quick suggestion.

In a few places where you say "sheet" , "workbook" or "worksheet" etc, it is probably more clear just to use the word "tab" and then change the grammar accordingly.

Here is my suggested change-

1. Select the first tab in the series that you want to edit.
2. Hold down the Shift key as you click on the last tab in the series you want to edit. A range of tabs should now be selected. Excel also adds the word [Group] to the title bar to indicate you have a group of tabs selected.
3. Make your changes to the worksheet shown on the screen. Your changes are automatically made on every other tab in the range as well.
4. When done, select a single tab, then press shift and select it again to undo the group selection.


2018-11-15 14:17:58

Graciela Zozaya

I tried to make changes to the same cell on all the sheets in my workbook by following the instructions above. I receive this error message: Cannot make changes to a table or XML mapping when multiple sheets are selected


2018-11-01 11:44:25

Brad

Thanks for this tip!

Question - is there a way to change partial data of a cell 's formula on multiple sheets while keeping the rest of the cells original content?

What the above tip does is completely change all the cells to the new info. But my different sheets are linking to different areas of the book. So the cells are not exact. I want to subtract one portion of the formula and leave the rest, but keep each cell with it's original content .

Is this possible?

Thanks!


2017-09-04 22:49:56

mario

HI, i have a worksheet with multiple sheet for calculating a cost for each day. The only thing that needed changing in the data formula is the month.
The problem is that when i select multiple sheet and i want to change the month, all the sheet become the same formula as the sheet that i edit. Is there any way that i can change only the month without changing the number of day? Thanks

This is the example of the formula i use.

='I:\[Real Time Cost 30 August 2017.xlsx]Cost'!$B$163:$Y$163


2017-06-11 02:56:57

Alan Elston

Hi Eric
The only thing I can think of is that you have some “Events code” that performs that copying of data.
If that is the case then try the following to remove it:

You need to get the Visual Basic Development Window open, and showing the code module for your first sheet:
There are two ways to do that to get at a code of the type that might doing what you don’t want to be done:
Way 1:-
From Excel Hit Alt+F11
The Visual basic Development Window should come up
To the left in the VBA Explorer Window, look for a the module ( small square box) that has the Worksheet name on it of your first sheet..
Double click on that sheet name.
Way 2:-
Right mouse click on the Worksheet Tab of your first sheet and select something like “View Code”
See screen shots: http://imgur.com/5EDBP97

At this point in the large code window there may be a code shown.
You could just delete that, but that might be a bad idea if it is also responsible for doing anything else that you do want done.
Another alternative is to ‘comment it out: To do that you put a small ' at the left. If you do that on any code line, then the code line turns green. Such a code line then becomes a simple text comment / remark / notes etc… , and these are ignored in codes by Excel.
You will need to do that to all code lines.
Alternatively you could copy that code somewhere such as in a WORD doco or a simple Text editor as a back up and then delete the code.

Alan


2017-06-10 06:27:29

Erik Jones

PLEASE HELP!!!
I have a workbook with numerous sheets that populate the same information on every sheet when I enter data on only the first sheet. For the life of me, I cannot seem to find a way to remove this function! I am trying to fill in different information on the first sheet and it duplicates to all the other sheets, preventing me from filling in different data on the other sheets.

PLEASE HELP!!!!


2016-08-10 20:55:41

Tom Bates

There are a couple of places where I think you meant worksheet, not workbook.

But thanks for the great tips!
Tom


2016-08-01 14:01:20

Mary Jo

Will this work for formatting worksheets and not just changing data? Sometimes I come up with a better format and would like to go back and change all of the worksheets....not individually would help! THX


2016-07-31 07:40:32

Thierry Hoornaert

Instead of all, you can also select some of the worksheets.
Click on one and then CTRL+Click on any of the other sheets you want to add to your selection.
Then make your changes. It will be applied to the selected sheets only.
After making your changes, make sure to click on a sheet tab that is not part of the selection to discontinue your selection. Because in that case clicking on another of the selected sheets' tab will only change the focus as these sheets will remain selected.


2016-07-30 22:53:43

Ron MVP

Is that a typo in the first step?

Shouldn't it read:
1. Select the first WORKSHEET in ....


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