How to get Excel out of Select Cell mode
Solution 1
Hit Esc or Enter I believe.
Solution 2
Hit the escape key.
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Erika
Updated on September 17, 2022Comments
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Erika almost 2 years
Looking for a tip on Microsoft Excel (2003):
If you click on a cell containing a formula, click into the formula, and click away, Excel will enter the cell or range you next select into the formula at the cursor. This is fine and dandy a lot of times, but right now I am working with a spreadsheet that has a lot of really long formulas. If I click into a cell and it goes into the state where it wants to enter a reference to the next cell I click into the formula, I can't always get out of it, and if I click on something, I don't always even know what the change was (these are really long formulas).
So my question is, is there a keystroke I can press or some other action to immediately get out of "input the next thing you click" mode and be sure there are no side effects? Ctrl-Z doesn't do it.
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Admin almost 15 yearsAs a side note, try using "Named ranges" and "constants" it helps make formulas more readable, and will reduce their length too! -
Admin almost 15 yearsIf only the original programmer of this spreadsheet had had this advice. Though to be fair it's really pushing Excel to its limits. I am converting it to a program.
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Admin over 14 yearsMatt's advice is good, and you can still replace ranges with defined names going forward
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Jeffrey almost 15 yearsEsc will cancel what you've typed, and Enter will save it.
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mandroid almost 15 yearsThe inverse to this is if you have a cell selected and want to start typing in it, press F2 to begin editing it.
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Erika almost 15 yearsOoh, the F2 thing is great, too.
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Scott - Слава Україні about 5 yearsBut this will save any changes you might have made, which seems to be counter to the "no side effects" requirement. -
Jay Kvam about 5 yearsPerhaps. The question is vague; however, generally, a side effect is an effect secondary to a main effect. The requirement was to avoid side effects. Presumably, one would want to save changes made; otherwise, why would the changes have been made, unless erroneously? Esc; Enter; or Ctrl + Enter; or yet still Tab; or even Shift + Enter all could work, depending on the task.
