Excel selects multiple cells instead of one (cells are not merged)

Anonymous
2010-06-18T16:21:25+00:00

Excel selects multiple cells instead of one (cells are not merged) - When clicking on a cell, Excel will select multiple cells around the intended selection. Also, the number of cells automatically selected and position of the selection is random each time the intended cell is clicked on.

Shift + Arrow Keys will select correctly but is not practical to use every time.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2010-06-18T16:52:06+00:00

Might be EXT mode - touch F8 to clear this

Might be Sticky Keys - touch SHFT 5 times to clear this


gsnu201004

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Anonymous
2010-06-19T17:06:39+00:00

To expand on EXT mode:  Regarding EXT mode this is turned on or off in 2007 by pressing F8.  It is also called Extend Selection in 2007 or later and if the Selection Mode option has been turned on for Excel's status bar you will see "Extend Selection" displayed.  This mode can also be turned off by pressing Esc. 


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  1. Anonymous
    2014-05-29T17:11:18+00:00

    Thanks AdamClarke91, this did the trick for me!

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-05-02T14:20:57+00:00

    Pressing SHIFT+F8was the only solution here that worked for me in Page Layout view. It seems to have shut off the Extend Selection Feature. Thank you very much. I thought my head was going to explode.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-04-11T09:36:50+00:00

    I have had this problem too but I have worked out what the cause is and an easy work around.

    The problem occurs on page layout view when you have the page break close to the bottom of the screen. i.e. a couple of cm of the page below visible at the bottom margin of your viewport. You can try this out, scrolling the view up or down solves the problem (also zooming in or out).

    A better solution however is to remove white spaces or the page margins. Simply click in the area between the two pages. "hide white space". This solves the problem, additional cells will not be highlighted.

    This works regardless or zoom level or whether F8 is activated.

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