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Home > Jan's CompLit 101 > Working with Numbers > Intro > Select & Navigate > Range
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Working with Numbers

    Intro: Select & Navigate: Range

A range is a rectangle of cells. The normal form for the range reference lists the upper left cell first, then the lower right cell, like B7:C9 or b7:c9. (The column letters do not have to be capitalized.)

Budget cell range B7:C9 (Excel 2010)
Range = upper left cell : lower right cell
Name Box shows upper left only

To select more than one cell is not hard, if the cells are next to each other. Just drag over the cells that you want.

For cells and ranges that are scattered around (non-adjacent), you will need to use the CTRL key along with your mouse. The SHIFT key is a great help when you need to select large numbers of cells that are next to each other (adjacent).

Highlight Colors

When you select more than one cell, Excel highlights all but the first cell in the selection. The highlight color combines with any existing colors. When you select cells that have a dark background, the highlighting can be very hard to see, but the column and row headers for the selection change also, which is easier to spot. You just have to remember to look! The border around the selected cells changes color. The border itself may not show well at the edges of the sheet, next to the headers.

Original Cells

Selected A1:C2
Original cells with standard black text on white
Original cells with standard black text on white (Excel 2013)
Highlighted cells in Excel 2010
Highlighted cells in Excel 2013
Black text on white;
border is thick		 Black text;
colored background except upper left cell;
border is thick

Original Cells
With colored background, colored text

Selected A1:A4
cells with colored text and background
cells with colored text and background (Excel 2013) 		Selected cells with colored text and background
Selected cells with colored text and background
  Highlighting dims and darkens the colors.
Excel 2007 and 2010: Border color is pale over dark backgrounds and light over dark background.

Saving Screen Shots

It can be handy to save a picture of what is on your screen. There are several ways to do that. Here are two that do not require special software.

Method 1: Print Screen

  • Full screen: Press Print Screen key to capture the whole screen.
    The key is often labeled with an abbreviation, like PRT SCRN or Print Scr.
    Active window only: ALT + PRT SCRN
    Your captured image is copied to the Windows Clipboard (which is a section of memory).
  • Open Paint or another graphics program. Paste.
  • Edit if you need to crop or add text.
  • Save.

Method 2: (Vista, Win7, Win8, Win8.1, Win10) Snipping Tool

  • Snipping Tool (Win8.1)Open Snipping Tool from the Start menu, Start screen or Windows Search. This program comes with Windows.

  • Snipping Tool: New > list dropped (Win8.1) Click the arrow by New and choose the shape - Full Screen or window or rectangle or free-form.
    If you choose Window Snip, the current active window is captured.
    If you choose Full-screen Snip, the capture includes whatever is showing on your computer's screen.
    If you choose Free-form or Rectangular Snip, your mouse pointer changes to the Precision Select shape Pointer: Precision Select for Snipping Tool (Win8.1)for you to drag over whatever you want to capture.

    Snipping Tool: captured rectangle (Win8.1)The Snipping Tool window changes to show editing tools and a copy of what it just captured. You can add drawings or text using the pen and highlighter tools. The eraser applies only to what you drew on the image. You cannot edit the capture or even crop it.

  • Click the Save button and save your capture to an appropriate folder. In these lessons, save to your Class disk in the appropriate folder with an appropriate name, or the name your instructor directed you to use.
Icon Step-by-Step 

Step-by-Step: Select Range

  Icon Step-by-Step
What you will learn: to select a range of cells by -
     dragging
     keys
     range reference
     name
to name a range
to select non-adjacent cells
to extend or reduce a selection

Start with: Icon: Excel with budget-2010.xlsx budget-2010-Lastname-Firstname.xlsx from resource files 

You will not be saving any changes in this lesson but your instructor may want you to capture some screen shots to prove you did the lesson. Ask.

Select Range: Drag

It's easy to drag to select when the corners of the range are fairly close together.

  1. Range B7:D13 selected (Excel 2010)Drag from cell B7 to cell D13, the opposite corner of the range.
    While you are dragging, the Name Box shows the number of rows and columns in your selection.

    When you release the mouse button, you have selected all the cells in range B7:D13. The Name Box shows B7 and the Formula Bar shows what is in cell B7 = 20000.

  2. Click on a cell outside the range to deselect the range.
  3. Cells selected from B13 to D7 (Excel 2010)Drag from cell B13 to cell D7 (the other corners of the range you selected before) and release the mouse button.
    The same cells are selected but the Name Box shows B13 this time and the Formula Bar shows 5000, the contents of cell B13. B13 was your starting point.

The row and column headings for the selected cells are colored to help you see what you are selecting. Once you release the mouse button, the Name Box will always show just the cell reference of the cell you started with. The Formula bar shows the contents of that cell the whole time.

Select Range: Keys

This technique is especially useful when the corners of the range are far apart. You do not have to select the upper left and then the lower right cell in the range. Either pair of diagonal corners in any order will do. However you select, the range reference is normally written as upper left: lower right.

  1. Range A7:D13 selectedSelect one corner of the range: cell A7.
  2. Hold the SHIFT key down and select the opposite corner, cell D13.
    All cells are selected in the rectangle with these two cells as the corners.
  3. Click out of the range somewhere to de-select the range.
  4. Select cell A7 again.
  5. Hold the SHIFT key down and use the arrow keys to move to cell D13. Then release the SHIFT key. The range A7:D13 is selected.

Select Range: Range Reference

When you know the cell references for the corners, the Name Box is even easier than dragging.

  1. Range N44:N46 selectedClick in the Name Box and type the range reference n44:n46 and press ENTER.

    The display scrolls directly to the range and the cells are all selected.

    Again the Name Box shows only the upper left cell of the range and the Formula Bar shows what is in that cell. In this case there is a formula in the cell.

Select Range: Name

Cell references are hard to remember. Give a name to cells that you will be looking at often.

  1. Name Box = Yearly_TotalsIf necessary, select the range N44:N46.
  2. To name the selected range, click in the Name Box, type Yearly_Totals and press ENTER. 

    TipUse an underscore in the name when you want some space. Spaces are not allowed in cell or range names.

  3. Return to cell A1. (Hint: Use CTRL + HOME)
  4. Open the drop list for the Name Box and select the name Yearly_Totals

    You are returned to range N44:N46 and it is selected again. Success!

Select Cells/Ranges: Not Adjacent - CTRL key

A range is a set of adjacent cells. They are right next to each other. You can also select non-adjacent cells, ranges, or a combination. These are not next to each other. The CTRL key gives you the power to skip around with your selections.

  1. Selected ranges highlightedSelect cell C4.
    (Hint: Type the cell reference in the Name Box and press ENTER. This will avoid the long scroll from N44:N46.)
  2. Non-adjacent cells: Hold down the CTRL key and click on cells E4 and G4. 

    In some versions of Excel it is hard to tell that those cells in row 4 are part of the selection because the highlighting does not make a big difference with this background color.

    Cells C4, E4, and G4 selected. Highlighting is hard to see!

  3. Non-adjacent range - Drag: While you hold down the CTRL key, drag to select the range C7:E13.
    Now your selection includes 3 separate cells and a range.
  4. Non-adjacent range - Name Box: Release the CTRL key but don't click anywhere so your selections will remain selected. In the Name Box, type h10:i20 and then hold the CTRL key down while you press ENTER.
    The range H10:I20 is added to the selection. So you have 3 cells and 2 ranges selected.

TipThe Name Box shows the cell reference for the last cell or range you chose. It cannot show all the parts that are selected. 

Select Cells/Ranges: Extend or Reduce Selection - SHIFT key

Suppose you have a selection that is one row too short. Or perhaps it is a column too wide. You don't have to start your selection all over. You can extend or reduce it using the SHIFT key.

  1. Selection extendedExtend single cell selection: Select cell B4. Hold the SHIFT key down and click cell G4. Your selection is extended to G4. 
  2. Select the range A7:D12.
  3. Extend the selection by one row: Hold the SHIFT key down and click cell D13.
  4. Reduce the selection by one column: Hold the SHIFT key down and click cell C13.
  5. To change both width and height at the same time: Hold the SHIFT key down and click cell F20.
  6. Use CTRL + HOME to return to cell A1.