Selecting Cells That Match Criteria

Beyond the shortcuts for general selection discussed in the previous section, Excel offers shortcuts for more specialized selection ”for example, selecting the cells referenced by a formula, or selecting cells in a row or column whose value is different from the value in the active cell .

Shortcuts for Selecting Cells That Match Criteria

Select the data region

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - [*] , [Ctrl] - [*] on the numeric keypad

The data region is a block of cells containing entries. The end of the data area is defined by a blank column at the left or right, and by a blank row at the top or bottom.

Select the array that the active cell is in

[Ctrl] - [/]

Select nonmatching cells in the active row

[Ctrl] - [\]

This shortcut selects cells in the active row whose values don t match the value in the active cell.

Select nonmatching cells in the active column

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - []

This shortcut selects cells in the active column whose values don t match the value in the active cell.

Select all cells that have comments attached

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - [O]

This shortcut uses the letter O, not zero.

Select only the visible cells in the current selection

[Alt] - [;]

This shortcut is useful when the selected area contains hidden rows or columns that you don t want to include when copying the contents of the selected area. (If you select the whole area, Excel includes any hidden rows or columns. These rows and columns appear when you paste the data.)

Select cells directly referenced by formulas in the active cell

[Ctrl] - [[]

Select cells that contain formulas directly referencing the active cell

[Ctrl] - []]

Select cells directly or indirectly referenced by formulas in the active cell

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - [{]

Select cells that contain formulas directly or indirectly referencing the active cell

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - [}]