How to select non adjacent cells in Excel

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Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

1. Without Using Ctrl Key
2. Without Using Mouse
Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns with the Keyboard
The Control Key
Shift F8 – Add to Selection
Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns Using Go To
Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns with Google Sheets

Normally when you need to select multiple cells which are not continuing you press and hold the control key and then select each cell with the mouse.

Right?

That’s the simple method. But I can bet that you have never heard about selecting non-contiguous cells without using a mouse.

The reason for this is no one ever found this method. Luckily me.

But here’s the kicker: There’s also a way which you can use to select non-continues cells [non-adjacent] without using the control key.

But in today’s post, I’m going to show you exactly two different ways to select all the non-adjacent cells.

1. Without Using Ctrl Key

Just follow these simple steps to do it.

Select the cell from where you want to start your selection.
Press Shift + F8 for once.
You get a message “Add To Selection” on your status bar – bottom of your Excel window.
Now, you can select your cells just by clicking on them.
So, you can do anything with your selection (formatting, deleting, etc.).
Just press ESC to release your selection.

2. Without Using Mouse

To select non-continues cells without using your keyboard follow these simple steps.

Press shift + F8 to activate the “Add To Selection” Mode.
Navigate to the range you want to include in your selection, press Shift + F8 again.
And, so on.

Note: While trying to select non-adjacent range without the keyboard. When you try to add single cells to your selection, this method will not work.

Conclusion

So, here is the story about this quick and smart way to select non-adjacent cells in Excel. What do you think method is better to use? First or second. Or, you still want to use the Ctrl key to select non-adjacent cells in Excel.

See all How-To Articles

This tutorial will demonstrate how to select non-adjacent cells or columns in Excel & Google Sheets.

Occasionally we may wish to format or delete the contents of cells or columns that are not next to each other. It is more efficient to select all these cells at once.

Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns with the Keyboard

The Control Key

1. Select the first column or range of cells that are required.

2. Hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard and select the second range of cells required.

3. Keep holding down the CTRL key while selecting all the required ranges by dragging the mouse or using the arrows on the keyboard.

4. We can then format or delete the contents of the cells, as required.

Shift F8 – Add to Selection

1. By pressing SHIFT + F8 on the keyboard, you put Excel into Add to Selection mode.

2. A message will be shown on the status bar in the bottom left hand corner of the Excel screen.

3. With this mode you can select non-adjacent cells and columns by simply selecting them with the mouse.

Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns Using Go To

1. In the Ribbon, select Home > Find & Select > Go To.

Alternatively, press F5 or CTRL + G on the keyboard.

2. In the Reference box, type in the range of cells that you wish to select. Each range needs to have the cell addresses separated by a colon (:) and then each range of cells separated by a comma (,).

3. Click OK to highlight the range of cells.

The ranges of cells do not need to match. We can select 10 cells in one column and 5 cells in another if this is required.

We can also select a row of cells and a column of cells together.

Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns with Google Sheets

Holding down the CTRL key on the keyboard and dragging over the required cells with the mouse is the only way that non-adjacent columns and cells can be selected in Google Sheets.

Dragging with the mouse in Excel to quickly highlight a block of adjacent cells is probably the most common way of selecting more than one cell in a worksheet. But, there may be times when the cells you want to highlight are not located beside each other.

When this occurs, it's possible to select non-adjacent cells. Although selecting non-adjacent cells can be done solely with the keyboard, it's easier to do when you use the keyboard and mouse together.

Witthaya Prasongsin / Getty Images

The information in the article applies to Excel versions 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and Excel for Mac.

With your mouse, click the first cell you want to highlight. This cell becomes the active cell.
Press and hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
Click the rest of the cells you want to highlight.
Once the desired cells are highlighted, release the Ctrl key.
Do not click anywhere else with the mouse pointer once you release the Ctrl key or you will clear the highlight from the selected cells.
If you release the Ctrl key too soon and wish to highlight more cells, press and hold the Ctrl key again and click the additional cell(s).

The steps below cover selecting cells using only the keyboard.

Use the Keyboard in Extended Mode

To select non-adjacent cells with only the keyboard requires you to use the keyboard in Extended mode. Extended mode is activated by pressing the F8 key on the keyboard. You can shut off extended mode by pressing the Shift and F8 keys on the keyboard together.

Select Single Non-Adjacent Cells

Move the cell cursor to the first cell you want to highlight.
Press and release the F8 key on the keyboard to start Extended mode and to highlight the first cell.
Without moving the cell cursor, press and release the Shift+F8 keys on the keyboard together to shut off Extended mode.
Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cell cursor to the next cell you wish to highlight. The first cell remains highlighted.
With the cell cursor on the next cell to be highlighted, repeat steps 2 and 3 above.
Continue to add cells to the highlighted range by using the F8 and Shift+F8 keys to start and stop Extended mode.

Select Adjacent and Non-Adjacent Cells

Follow the steps below if the range you wish to select contains a mixture of adjacent and individual cells.

Move the cell cursor to the first cell in the group of cells you want to highlight.
Press and release the F8 key on the keyboard to start Extended Mode.
Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to extend the highlighted range to include all cells in the group.
With all cells in the group highlighted, press and release the Shift+F8 keys to shut off extended mode.
Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cell cursor away from the highlighted group of cells. The first group of cells remains highlighted.
If there are more grouped cells you wish to highlight, move to the first cell in the group and repeat steps 2 to 4 above.