Selecting a Range

To select a range using the mouse, follow these steps:

1. Move the mouse pointer to the upper-left corner of a range.

2. Click and hold the left mouse button.

3. Drag the mouse to the lower-right corner of the range and release the mouse button. The cells are highlighted on the worksheet (see Figure 11.1).

   Figure 11.1. A range is any combination of cells that forms a rectangle or a square.

   

Techniques that you can use to quickly select a row, a column, an entire worksheet, or several ranges are shown in Table 11.1.

Table 11.1. Selection Techniques

To Select This	Do This
Several ranges	Select the first range, hold down the Ctrl key, and select the next range. Continue holding down the Ctrl key while you select additional ranges.
Row	Click the row heading number at the left edge of the worksheet. You also can press Shift+Spacebar . To select several adjacent rows, drag over their headers. To select nonadjacent rows, press Ctrl as you click each row's header.
Column	Click the column heading letter at the top edge of the worksheet. You also can press Ctrl+Spacebar .
Entire worksheet	Click the Select All button (the blank rectangle in the upper-left corner of the worksheet, above row 1 and left of column A). You also can press Ctrl+A .
The same range on several sheets	Press and hold Ctrl as you click the worksheets you want to use, and then select the range in the usual way.
Range that is out of view	Press Ctrl+G ( Go To ) or click in the Name box on the Formula bar and type the address of the range you want to select. For example, to select the range R100 to T250, type R100:T250 and press Enter .

Deselecting a Range To deselect a range, click any cell in the worksheet.

Selected cells are highlighted in a slightly grayed tone, so you can still read your data.