How to Select Multiple Cells in Excel (10 Quick Methods)

If you are looking for how to select multiple cells in Excel, then you’ve come to the right place. There are several ways to select multiple cells in Excel, and in this article, we’ll try to talk about the 10 quickest ways to select multiple cells in Excel.


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Select Multiple Cells in Excel Easily with These 10 Quick Methods

There are several ways to select multiple cells in Excel. Let’s check them out.

Method 1

Selecting By Clicking and Dragging Select Multiple cells in Excel

Clicking and dragging across the workbook is one of the easiest ways to select a group of cells. 

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • Click the first cell you wish to pick and hold down the mouse button.

  • Move the pointer over all of the cells you want to choose, and then let go of the mouse button.

Now the group of cells is all selected.

📕 Read More: 3 Ways to Divide a Group of Cells by a Number in Excel


Method 2

Holding Shift Key

 

When you wish to choose a range of cells that goes beyond the visible part of the screen, clicking and dragging isn’t always the most practical option. Using the Shift key, you can select a range of cells, similar to how you would select a group of files in a file or folder.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • Start by clicking the first cell of the desired selection
  • Find the last cell in the range you wish to pick by scrolling down the sheet. Press and hold the Shift key, and then click the desired cell.

Now that the range has been selected, all of the cells within it have been selected.


Method 3

Using the CTRL Key

 

By holding down the Ctrl key, you can also choose a group of cells that aren’t directly adjacent to one another.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • Start by selecting the first cell by clicking on it.
  • To select multiple cells, press and hold Ctrl while clicking. As you can see in the image below, we’ve selected 5 different cells.
  • To deselect a cell, from an already selected range, press the Ctrl key. As shown in the picture below, we were able to deselect several cells from a previously selected range by clicking them while holding down the Ctrl key.

Method 4

Using Keyboard Shortcut

By using a keyboard shortcut, we may choose as many cells as we want, both column- and row-wise.


4.1.

Selecting Multiple Cells One by One

To select cells one by one, use a keyboard shortcut.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • First, choose a cell. We’ve chosen cell B5 in this case.
  • Second, use Shift + Down Arrow() to select the cells one by one, column by column. We’ve chosen all of the cells from B5 to B8 in this column.
  • Finally, press SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW() to select the cells row by row. We have selected all of the cells from Columns B to D, row by row.Selecting Multiple Cells Using KB Shortcut

4.2.

Selecting Multiple Cells Together

You can also select multiple cells at once by using the keyboard shortcut.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • To begin, click on the first cell in the database that you want to select. Cell B5 has been chosen in this case.Select Multiple cells in Excel Using KB Shortcut
  • Second, hold down CTRL + SHIFT + Down Arrow (). It will select all cells in a column until there is a blank cell. All of the cells from B5 to B11 have been chosen here.
  • Finally, hit CTRL + SHIFT + END. It will select all the cells in each row until there are no blank cells in any row. Columns B through D has been chosen in this case.Selecting Multiple Cells Using KB shortcut

Method 5

Selecting Entire Row

You may need to select a whole row of cells at once, for example, to format a header row. This is easy to do.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️ 

  • Just click with your left mouse button on the Row number you want to choose. This Row’s cells will all be chosen. Here, I’ve chosen Row 11.Select Multiple cells in Excel from Entire Row

📕 Read More: 10 Ways to Select Multiple Cells Without Mouse in Excel


Method 6

Designating Multiple Rows

Sometimes, you may want to select more than one whole row of cells. Similar to selecting individual cells, you use the Shift key if the rows are connected (or you can click and drag) and the Ctrl key if the rows are not connected.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • You can just drag your mouse to select Rows that are next to each other. I have selected Rows 9, 10, and 11.Select Multiple cells in Excel from Multiple Rows
  • You can also select rows that are not next to each other.Selecting Multiple Cells from Multiple Rows
  • Just keep your Ctrl key pressed down on your keyboard.
  • Then click the Rows number. Here, Rows 7, 9, and 11 have been selected.

Method 7

 Selecting Entire Column

You could also want to choose a whole column of cells sometimes. This is also easy to do. In fact, it works exactly the same as when you select rows.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • Clicking on a column letter selects that column.Select Multiple cells in Excel from entire column

Method 8

Choosing Multiple Columns

Selecting multiple columns is also the same as selecting multiple rows. Similar to selecting individual cells, you use the Shift key if the columns are connected (or you can click and drag) and the Ctrl key if the columns are not connected.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️ 

  • Like Rows, you can just drag your mouse to choose Columns that are next to each other. I’ve selected Columns B and C here.Select Multiple cells in Excel from Multiple Columns

You can also choose Columns that are not next to each other.

  • Just hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click on the number of Columns. I’ve selected Columns B and D here.Selecting Multiple Cells from Multiple Columns

Method 9

Selecting Multiple Cells Not Next to Each Other by Using Name Box

You can use the Name Box on the Excel Sheet to select multiple cells.

The Name Box is the box at the top left of the Excel Sheet, next to the Formula Bar, as shown in the image below.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • First, write the cell references you want to select in the Name Box. Use commas to set them apart (,). In the end, the cells will be selected on their own. You can select cells that are next to each other or far away from each other this way. We have selected cells B6 and D9 in this case.
  • Second, click Enter to get the output.Select Multiple cells in Excel not Next to Each Other

📕 Read More: 3 Ways to Clear Contents Without Deleting Formulas in Excel


Method 10

Selecting Whole Worksheet

Lastly, you can select the whole sheet.

⬇️⬇️ STEPS ⬇️⬇️

  • Click the small triangle in the top left corner of the worksheet with your left mouse button.Select Multiple cells in Excel of whole worksheet

And this is how the whole worksheet will be selected.


📄  Important Notes

🖊️  In Excel, the ribbon is used to access various commands. You can change a lot of things in the options dialogue window, like the ribbon, formulas, proofing, saving, and so on. So the appearance of worksheets on your device could be different from ours.

🖊️  A practice workbook is given so that you can practice yourself.

🖊️  All these exercises and tutorials are done on Microsoft Office 365. Some functions may be unavailable in previous versions.


📝  Takeaway from This Article

📌  Reader will be able to select multiple cells with various methods in excel.

📌  One will be able to identify the quickest method to select more than one cell in Excel.


Conclusion

That concludes today’s session. These are the methods for selecting multiple cells in Excel. We are hopeful that this article will be extremely beneficial to you. Don’t forget to leave your thoughts and questions in the comments section and explore our website, ExcelDen, the best Excel solutions provider.


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Tanzim

Tanzim

My name's Tanzim. My articles are meant to help you learn more about how Microsoft Excel works and how to use its different features. I enjoy gaming and hope that some of my knowledge will help me provide you with some interesting articles despite some tiresome technical terms.

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