Inserting Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 21, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

As you are editing your worksheet, it not untypical that you will need to move things around. One of the most common way of doing this is to insert cells, which will result in the movement of existing cells. You can insert a cell (or cells) in your worksheet by following these steps:
  1. Select the cell or cells that indicate where you want your new cells inserted. Make sure that the number of cells you select represents the same number you want to insert. Thus, if you want to insert four cells, you would select four cells at the point where the insertion is to take place.
  2. Choose Cells from the Insert menu. Excel displays the Insert dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Insert dialog box.

  3. Select how you want the current cells in the worksheet affected.
  4. Click on OK. Your cells are inserted.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2656) 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

Word Documents from Excel Macros

You can use Excel macros to open and manipulate not just Excel workbooks, but also Word documents. This tip discusses ...

Discover More

Weekdays in a Month

Want to find out how many of a particular weekday occurs within a given month? Here's how you can find the desired ...

Discover More

Modifying What is Started when You Start Windows

Did you know that Windows automatically starts extra programs whenever you boot your system? If you want to see which ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Changing Your Company Name

The installation process for Office and Excel allows you to specify a company name. If your company name later changes, ...

Discover More

Using a Single Instance of Excel with Two Monitors

Working on a computer system that has multiple monitors can help increase your productivity. If you want to work with ...

Discover More

Finding the Number of Significant Digits

When looking at a number, you may wonder how many significant digits it contains. The answer is not always an easy one, ...

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 9 - 7?

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.