Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: How Many Rows and Columns Have I Selected?.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 26, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
As I am typing along in Excel, I find it a bother to take my hands off the keyboard and fumble for the mouse. Thus, I will often use the keyboard to make selections. I simply hold down the Shift key and use the arrow keys to expand my selection. As I do so, Excel obliges me by reporting, in the Name box, the number of rows and columns I have selected.
The problem is, once I let go of the Shift key, the contents of the Name box return to normal, and I can no longer tell how many rows and columns I selected. To solve this, I find it very easy to again hold down the Shift key and press one of the arrow keys. This expands the selected range and again reports the selection size in the Name box. If I immediately press the opposite arrow key (while still holding down the Shift key), the selection returns to my original size and I can see the size of that selection in the Name box.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8849) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: How Many Rows and Columns Have I Selected?.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
When you add a new row of data to the bottom of the data of a worksheet, Excel may (or may not) copy formulas downward to ...
Discover MoreUsing the AutoFill feature of Excel is very handy. If you want to expand the utility offered by the feature, all you need ...
Discover MoreNeed to edit the data within a cell? There are any number of ways you can perform the edit; this tip documents them all.
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2024-10-29 10:01:31
J. Woolley
@Mechie
And if you use the mouse to select a bunch of cells and press Shift before releasing the mouse button, the Name box does NOT return to normal after the mouse button is released even if Shift is subsequently released.
2024-10-28 14:55:41
Mechie
Just discovered something.
If I use the mouse drag method to select a bunch of cells, it will show the number of rows and columns as long as the mouse button is held down. Once you release it, the Name box returns to showing just the active cell address.
However, if I use the Shift and Arrow keys to select a range, then the Name box does retain the number of rows and columns after releasing the shift button. Also works if I expand a range using Shift and Arrow keys that was previously selected using just the mouse.
Interesting. Never paid attention to this before so can't say if it is a change or not. And would like to hear Microsoft's reasoning for having the two different selection methods respond differently. Almost have to wonder if this is by design, or just chance.
2024-10-26 11:01:26
Allen
Huh. You are correct, James. I just checked on my latest 365, and it doesn't go away. This must be a very recent change, as it didn't work that way previously.
-Allen
2024-10-26 10:51:46
J. Woolley
I'm using Excel 365. When I "let go of the Shift key" as described in the Tip's second paragraph, the contents of the Name box does NOT return to normal; I can still see how many rows and columns I selected. I wonder which version of Excel modified the behavior described in the Tip.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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:
Comments