Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Changing Multiple Cells at Once.

Changing Multiple Cells at Once

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 9, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


1

David has several non-adjacent cells that each contains the same formula. He needs to change the formula in all the cells to something else. He knows he can change the formula in one of the cells and then copy the formula to the other cells, but he's wondering if there is a way to change the formula in all the cells at the same time, without the need to do the copy/paste operation.

If you want to retype the formula from scratch, Excel actually provides a shortcut to do this: Ctrl+Enter. All you need to do is create a selection set of the cells you want to edit. (Selection sets are created by clicking on a single cell then, as you hold down the Ctrl key, clicking on other cells you want included in the set.) Type the formula you want to appear in each cell in the set, then press Ctrl+Enter.

If you want to change an existing formula in the cells, simply create your selection set of those cells and then use Find and Replace to search for the formula you want to change. You can easily click on Replace All in the dialog box to change all the cells at once. (Remember—this approach will only work properly if the formulas in the cells are all exactly the same.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11924) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Changing Multiple Cells at Once.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Deleting a View

When you no longer need a view, you can get rid of it by deleting it. Deleting unnecessary views is a good idea because ...

Discover More

Easily Changing Chart Data Ranges

Want a handy way to make the data ranges for your chart more dynamic? Here are some great ideas you can put to work right ...

Discover More

Appearance of Excel on the Taskbar

Do you want Excel to use a task button, on the Windows Taskbar, for each of your open worksheets? Then just make this ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Easily Adding Blank Rows

Want to add a bunch of blank rows to your data and have those rows interspersed among your existing rows? Here's a quick ...

Discover More

Conditionally Deleting Rows

Want to delete a bunch of rows in a worksheet based on the value in a certain cell of each row? There are a couple of ...

Discover More

Can't Copy Data between Workbooks

Edit a group of workbooks at the same time and you probably will find yourself trying to copy information from one of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four minus 0?

2023-05-19 14:00:14

Amjad Ali

Here is also with new improve tools i found for proper bookkeeping, accounting purposes, which include for invoicing, budget evaluation, economic analysis, education of profits statement, balance sheet and plenty easier and it has much less time eating for all monetary analysis for current and destiny year as well. Which downloadable at https://www.excel-accounting-budget-analysis.com


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.