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: Going to the Corners of a Selected Range.

Going to the Corners of a Selected Range

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 29, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


2

David noted that Quattro Pro used to have a feature where you could depress the period key when you had a range highlighted and it would take you the four corners of the range in clockwise order as a way to check that you had the entire range you wanted. He wonders if Excel has something similar.

You are in luck, David; there is a shortcut built into Excel that will do this very thing. Interestingly enough, it is very close to the same shortcut key used in Quattro Pro. All you need to do, after you have the range selected, is hold down the Ctrl key as you press the period. Excel moves you through the outside corners of the range, in order.

Further, you can move from the upper-left corner of the selection to the lower-right corner by pressing Shift+Tab. To move back (from bottom-right to upper-left), just press the Tab key.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3290) 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: Going to the Corners of a Selected Range.

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

Inserting Page Number Cross-References

Want to insert a dynamic cross-reference to a particular page number? It's easy to do following the steps in this tip.

Discover More

Conditionally Formatting an Entire Row

Need to conditionally highlight an entire row based on the contents of a single cell in each row? This tip explains how ...

Discover More

Putting Headers and Footers on Multiple Worksheets

You can easily create headers and footers for multiple worksheets by working with a selection set of the worksheets you ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Odd Arrow Key Behavior

Press the up or down arrow keys, and you expect Excel to change which cell is selected. If this doesn't occur on your ...

Discover More

Tab Key Jumps a Screen at a Time

Have you ever pressed the Tab key, expecting to move to the next cell in your worksheet, only to have Excel completely ...

Discover More

Finding the End of the Worksheet

Want a quick way to get to the last cell in your worksheet? This tip provides a handy shortcut and a potential "gotcha."

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.

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 + 2?

2016-02-20 09:09:16

Ryan

When I use CTRL + SHIFT + END to select an entire range, it sometimes selects blank rows at the bottom of the range where I have deleted rows. How do I get it to only select rows where I have data?


2016-02-20 06:04:35

Pieter de la Court

This is very handy, however it does not seem to work when you want to move around the corners while entering a data range in a formula. Is there any way to do that?


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.