Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Selecting Multiple Cells by Mistake.
Lester notes that sometimes when he clicks on a single cell in a worksheet, more than one cell gets selected. Only by clicking various other cells at random in another part of the worksheet does it go back to normal where only the single cell he clicked on is selected. He wonders why this is happening.
There could be any number of causes for a problem like this. First of all, when it happens you should let go of the mouse and switch to the keyboard. With the multiple cells still selected, press the Up Arrow key once and then the Down Arrow key once. If there are still multiple cells selected, it could be that the cells are actually merged. You can unmerge the cells, if desired, or simply accept that you can't select individual cells in the merged range.
If the cells are not merged, it could be that the extend mode is currently turned on. Take a look at the status bar at the bottom of the worksheet. If you see the word Extend Selection towards the left of the status bar, then extend mode is active. Press either Esc or F8 to turn off extend mode. (When Excel is in extend mode, one end of a selection is "anchored" and the selection extends from there to where you click or move next.)
If the problem still continues, it could be because of a hardware problem with the mouse. Try changing to a different mouse to see if that fixes the issue. If it doesn't, then it is also possible that it is a problem with the keyboard. If the keyboard has a sticky Shift key, then that key could be "engaged" longer than desired, resulting in a selection of a range of cells, similar to the extend mode problem mentioned earlier. If you suspect this is the cause, then you'll need to either thoroughly clean your keyboard or replace it.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7882) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Selecting Multiple Cells by Mistake.
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2022-01-14 17:21:36
Carol
This was the right answer and across the Internet the ONLY answer that had any real content other than "select control and click" which didn't work. Sincere thanks!
2021-09-12 17:20:32
Alec W
This seems to be a bug in Excel, and it only occurs in Page Layout view. Change the view to Normal or Page Break and the unwanted multiple cell selection no longer happens.
2021-09-10 11:47:33
Rick Leisner
I've run into this before and was flummoxed. Of course I looked online and found out that I wasn't the only one who'd run into this, and there didn't seem to be a simple explanation or solution. Well, I accidentally stumbled on something that seems to be an effective solution every time I've run into it since: try zooming in or out or both. Usually, just zooming in causes the selection problem to disappear immediately. Sometimes I have to try selecting a single cell again. I'm sorry I can't give a technical explanation as to why, but at least I found a solution that has worked for me.
2018-01-20 04:07:02
Maryna Truter
I have tried the F8 and Esc function, but then I tried the following steps;
I thought to myself, every program has got settings....so I selected
"File" (thought I would find a settings tab somewhere, but NO, what I well discovered is under the file tab;)
"Check for Issues tab" (I selected check for issues)
"Check accessibility" (I selected this tab)
Clicked on a cell and problem solved.
Close Accessibility checker.
Problem solved>
2017-12-17 04:33:46
Ravi Agarwal
Or it could be that STICKYKEYS are turned on.
2017-12-16 13:06:31
Shilo Herrling
There is also a bug in Excel that results in this same issue: click on one cell or row and 3 cells or rows are selected. Click somewhere else on one cell or row, and the same thing happens. The way to stop it when this happens is to change the VIEW (e.g., if it's on NORMAL, change to PAGE LAYOUT) and the problem stops. Don't know why it happens but Excel doesn't seem to be able to fix it.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: 
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