Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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: Weird Mouse Shortcut.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 25, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
There's an interesting little shortcut you can use to navigate around your worksheet, if you like to use the mouse quite a bit. When you select a cell, Excel places a bold outline around that cell. If you double-click on one of the borders of the cell, Excel moves the cell selection in the direction indicated by the border you double-clicked.
That may sound confusing, but try this to get an idea of how this shortcut operates:
That's it. Did you notice that Excel selected the last cell in the column that has anything in it? The same thing happens if you click on the other sides of selection border: double-click the left side to jump left, the top side to jump up, and the right side to jump right.
You may be tempted to think that double-clicking the selection border is the same as holding down the Ctrl key as you press one of the directional arrows on the keyboard. If the cell you originally have selected is within a data table, then the two approaches (mouse and keyboard) do have the same effect. If the original cell is outside of a data table, however, then the effect is not the same.
For instance, select an unused cell to the right of your data table. There should be several empty columns between the cell you select and the edge of the data table. If you hold down the Ctrl key as you press the Left Arrow, then Excel selects the next cell in that row, to the left, that has something in it. In other words, it selects the cell that is at the right edge of your data table in that row.
If, instead, you double-click the left selection border for the cell, then the first occupied cell is not selected. Instead, Excel selects the cell just to the right of the first occupied cell. In other words, it selects the last empty cell before the edge of the data table in that row.
Spend some time playing around with this method of navigation. You may be surprised by how Excel moves the cell selection.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (664) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Weird Mouse Shortcut.
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2020-04-08 07:32:14
Brian Nowell
Re: https://excelribbon.tips.net/T000664_Weird_Mouse_Shortcut.html
Not only did I find this intriguing but I did find that if I held the Shift key when clicking a border I actually selected the range to the first empty cell. Then selecting the border on one side of that range I selected all cells adjacent and to the first empty cell on that side of the selection.
I had an array of digits, like 9 rows and 4 columns. By selecting an interior cell and using Shift and clicking a border I selected the cells in the range adjacent that border. Then selecting borders in turn (still holding the Shift) adjacent cells containing data, with four selection I was able to select all cells without selecting the top-left cell and then dragging to the lower right cell. Much easier.
With such a 'trick' i see value for myself in being able to colour fill a selection or even apply conditional formatfing.
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