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: Jumping to the Start of the Next Data Entry Row.

Jumping to the Start of the Next Data Entry Row

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 14, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


3

Do you need to always jump to the first cell right after all the data you've already put in your worksheet? For instance, if you have a worksheet that contains data in A1:G251, do you ever need to jump to cell A252 so that you can start entering data?

Moving to the first cell in row 252 is easy, provided there is data in all the cells in A1:A251. But if there can be empty cells in column A, then jumping to A252 can be a bit more difficult. In that case, you might be interested in a macro that makes jumping to the first cell of the empty row after your data quite easy:

Sub FindFirstCellNextRow()
    Dim x As Integer
    x = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count
    ActiveCell.SpecialCells(xlLastCell).Select
    ActiveCell.EntireRow.Cells(1, 1).Offset(1, 0).Activate
End Sub

The first two lines effectively recompute the "last cell" in the worksheet and then the next two lines select that cell and jump to the cell in column A that is one row down.

Assign the macro to a keyboard shortcut, and you'll always be just one keystroke away from jumping to the first truly empty row in the worksheet.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6197) 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: Jumping to the Start of the Next Data Entry Row.

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

Getting Rid of All Hyperlinks

Need to get rid of all the hyperlinks in a worksheet? It's easy when you use this single-line macro.

Discover More

Dates with Periods

You may want Excel to format your dates using a pattern it doesn't normally useâ€"such as using periods instead of ...

Discover More

Reversing Names In Place

Do you want a way to reverse names within a cell, making them "last, first" instead of "first last?" Here's a handy macro ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Enforcing Moving Cells Up

When you design your worksheets, you probably want users to interact with those worksheets in specific ways. What ...

Discover More

Determining the Length of a String

Macros are great for working with strings, and one of the most commonly used string functions is Len. This tip explains ...

Discover More

Displaying Worksheets in a Slideshow Fashion

Want to step through the worksheets in a workbook, displaying them like a slideshow? The macros provided in this tip can ...

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 8 + 7?

2020-08-30 11:42:04

John Mann

I use the Form command, which I've added to the Home tab in Excel 2010, for quite a few of my record keeping. I've formated the data as a table, and as long as the active cell is anywhere in the table, clicking the Form command opens a dialoge box which lists all cells in which I can place data (calculated results show as a name only. The top button in the "form" is NEW, click that and I can then enter my data and it will always be in the last row of the table. When done, either click NEW again to add another record, click close.
I have noticed that some keyboard shortcuts work in the "form" (eg Ctrl+; to add todays date), while others don't (Ctrl+D, for example).
One thing to be aware of is that adding new records does NOT move the selected cell.


2020-03-16 06:08:04

David Robinson

Or you could press Ctrl + End to jump to the last cell in your spreadsheet, then press Home to go to the first column of that row, then down one.


2020-03-14 10:36:28

J. Woolley

For more on this subject, see https://excelribbon.tips.net/T011526_Finding_the_Last-Used_Cell_in_a_Macro


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.