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. ...

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