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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.
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Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Might be EXT mode - touch F8 to clear this
Might be Sticky Keys - touch SHFT 5 times to clear this
gsnu201004
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.
If this answer solves your problem, please check Mark as Answered. If this answer helps, please click the Vote as Helpful button. Cheers, Shane Devenshire
To turn off the EXT mode, I used SHIFT + F8.
(THE F8 KEY IS ONLY USED TO TURN IT ON.)
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
Best answer here- thank you
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.
@AdamClarke91......Thank you!! I have searched many forums trying all work around options listed. This is the first that has worked and continued to work.
@everybody else using the zoom.....The reason the zoom works sometimes is because it refocuses the page away from the white space. The moment you reposition the view where the white space is visible again, the problem will continue.
AdamClarke91s solution is a permanent fix. I'm sure we would all like to see Microsoft release a patch to fix the code that causes this bug. Until that happens, this is the next best thing.
This worked for me in Excel 2010. Thank you.