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: Moving Cells Using the Mouse.

Moving Cells Using the Mouse

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 27, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

As you edit your worksheet, you can use the mouse to move cells from one location to another. You do this by following these steps:

  1. Select the range of cells you want to move by highlighting the range with the mouse.
  2. Position the mouse pointer over the heavy border that surrounds the selected range. The pointer should turn into an arrow.
  3. Click and drag the range to a new location. As you move the mouse, the outline of the range moves.
  4. When you are satisfied with the new location, release the mouse pointer. The cells are moved.

If there is anything already at the target location, Excel may ask you if you want to overwrite the existing cells. You can respond according to your desires.

If you cannot seem to edit this way, or if no heavy border (step 2) appears around your selected range, then drag-and-drop editing is probably turned off on your system. To check this, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Click on the Edit tab. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Edit tab of the Options dialog box.

  3. Make sure the Allow Cell Drag and Drop check box is selected.
  4. If you want to be warned before overwriting information during an edit, make sure the Alert Before Overwriting Cells check box is selected.
  5. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2648) 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: Moving Cells Using the Mouse.

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

Understanding the Clipboard

You can use the Windows Clipboard to move information around in Word. To make the most of the Clipboard, it is helpful to ...

Discover More

Controlling Display of Page Breaks

Do you want page breaks displayed on the screen? Excel allows you to specify whether it should show those page breaks or not.

Discover More

Opening a Text File and Template from the Command Line

Word includes a command-line syntax that you can use to open files and do other operations. If you want to load a text ...

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)

Quickly Transposing Cells

If you want to turn a range of cells by 90 degrees within a worksheet, you need to understand how Excel can handle the ...

Discover More

Pasting without Updating References

Do you need to paste formulas without updating the references in whatever you are pasting? You can accomplish this, ...

Discover More

Flipping Data

Have you ever spent a lot of time putting information into a worksheet, only to realize that you should have put it in ...

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 + 9?

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.