Microsoft Excel - How to Turn Off Auto-Selection of Multiple Cells

Anonymous
2020-11-13T00:09:21+00:00

Hello Microsoft Community,

I have Excel for my iPad Air 3. I’ve come across this problem that seems to randomly show itself when I am working on a spreadsheet. When using my apple pencil or fingers, I can click and move around no problem. Yet, sometimes, it then starts to auto-select multiple cells when I click a new cell. I need this to stop! I don’t know if I keep pressing some button? Searching through Google hasn’t revealed anything. I can’t get it to stop unless i restart Excel or turn off/on my ipad. But the problem keeps showing up.

As an example, let’s say I was working on B4. Once this wonky setting takes ahold, a new selection of cells is highlighted using B4 as its starting point if I click any other cell in the Excel spreadsheet.

Please help! Thank you

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-01-21T20:26:03+00:00

    I am having this same issue, I have an iPad Pro and I find that I have to continuously save the database I am working on and shut down the app to resolve.  Is this somethat is a bug that could be addressed?

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-01-18T13:07:45+00:00

    Same. Please add me to the ticket. This just popped up for me in the last week while using our iPad pro. Excel is one of the primary functions I use so this needs to be addressed. I just looked and it seems the issue was logged back in November and its mid January so a solution/explanation should be coming shortly.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-01-13T17:17:08+00:00

    Hello Microsoft Community,

    I have Excel for my iPad Air 3. I’ve come across this problem that seems to randomly show itself when I am working on a spreadsheet. When using my apple pencil or fingers, I can click and move around no problem. Yet, sometimes, it then starts to auto-select multiple cells when I click a new cell. I need this to stop! I don’t know if I keep pressing some button? Searching through Google hasn’t revealed anything. I can’t get it to stop unless i restart Excel or turn off/on my ipad. But the problem keeps showing up.

    As an example, let’s say I was working on B4. Once this wonky setting takes ahold, a new selection of cells is highlighted using B4 as its starting point if I click any other cell in the Excel spreadsheet.

    Please help! Thank you

    There is clearly a design flaw in the interface with iPad.  Solutions for desktop are not available for the tablet (no function key, no mouse).  Perhaps MS can make a keyboard function available to deselect range mode.

    Same issue. App update please!

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-01-10T05:41:25+00:00

    Hello Microsoft Community,

    I have Excel for my iPad Air 3. I’ve come across this problem that seems to randomly show itself when I am working on a spreadsheet. When using my apple pencil or fingers, I can click and move around no problem. Yet, sometimes, it then starts to auto-select multiple cells when I click a new cell. I need this to stop! I don’t know if I keep pressing some button? Searching through Google hasn’t revealed anything. I can’t get it to stop unless i restart Excel or turn off/on my ipad. But the problem keeps showing up.

    As an example, let’s say I was working on B4. Once this wonky setting takes ahold, a new selection of cells is highlighted using B4 as its starting point if I click any other cell in the Excel spreadsheet.

    Please help! Thank you

    There is clearly a design flaw in the interface with iPad.  Solutions for desktop are not available for the tablet (no function key, no mouse).  Perhaps MS can make a keyboard function available to deselect range mode.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-01-10T00:34:31+00:00

    Thanks! I’ll give this a try the next time it acts up. It’s very frustrating for this to happen so often.

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