You probably know about the [F5] key - pressing [F5] opens the Go To dialog. You enter a range name or a cell reference, click OK, and Excel selects a range or cell, accordingly. It's a quick and easy way to get from one spot to another. What you might not know is that you can use this feature to select a range, where no range exists. Excel uses the current cell as the top-left anchor cell and you enter the bottom-right anchor cell (or vice versa). Excel will select everything in between, including the two anchor cells. The trick is to hold down the [Shift] key.

Let's work through a simple example. You can use any sheet, even a blank one, but we'll use this technique to select a small data range. Specifically, to use [F5] select A5:C21, do the following: • Select A5. • Press [F5]. • Enter C21 in the Reference field, but don't click OK yet.

If Scroll Lock status is not enabled in the status bar, it might be toggled on and you'll never see it. Right click the status bar to make sure Scroll Lock status is enabled: The Scroll Lock setting here doesn't control Scroll Lock, it only displays Scroll Lock status. To get there in Excel 2010, click the File tab, and then select Options in the left pane. In Excel 2007, click the round Office button, and then click the Excel Options button at the bottom of the. Select the letter at the top to select the entire column. Or click on any cell in the column and then press Ctrl + Space. Select the row number to select the entire row.

• Press and hold the [Shift] key. • While holding down [Shift], click OK.

That certainly was easy! I purposely chose a subset because there's an easier way to select an entire data range: simply press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+8.

Best movie editor for mac osx. This [F5] key trick comes in handy when you want to select a subset of a larger range, or even an area that comprises more than one data range. In addition, in a small range, a quick drag might be quicker, but you won't always be working with a small range that's visible on screen.