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: Moving Cells Using the Mouse.

Moving Cells Using the Mouse

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 14, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021

2

As you edit your worksheet, you can use the mouse to move cells from one location to another. You do this by following these steps:

  1. Select the range of cells you want to move by highlighting the range with the mouse.
  2. Position the mouse pointer over the heavy border that surrounds the selected range. The pointer should turn into a four-headed arrow.
  3. Click and drag the range to a new location. As you move the mouse, the outline of the range moves.
  4. When you are satisfied with the new location, release the mouse pointer. The cells are moved.

If there is anything already at the target location, Excel may ask you if you want to overwrite the existing cells. You can respond according to your desires.

If you cannot seem to edit this way, or if no heavy border (step 2) appears around your selected range, then drag-and-drop editing is probably turned off on your system. To check this, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In later versions of Excel display the File tab of the ribbon and click Options.)
  2. Click the Advanced option at the left of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Advanced option of the Excel Options dialog box.

  3. In the Editing Options area, make sure the Enable Fill Handle and Cell Drag-and-Drop check box is checked.
  4. If you want to be warned before overwriting information during an edit, make sure the Alert Before Overwriting Cells check box is selected.
  5. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12351) 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: Moving Cells Using the Mouse.

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

Finding Default Shortcut Keys

There are scores of shortcut keys defined in Word. If you want to discover what all those shortcut keys are, here are a ...

Discover More

Pointing PivotTables to Different Data

Changing the data source PivotTables go to can be a bit tricky. This tip explains what can happen when you re-point your ...

Discover More

Help for Older Excel Versions

If you are using an older version of Excel, you may discover one day that the online help system no longer works. This ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Dragging to Clear Cells

If you want to get rid of the contents of a range of cells, a quick way to do it is with the Fill handle. Yes, you can ...

Discover More

Editing Individual Cells

Need to edit the data within a cell? There are any number of ways you can perform the edit; this tip documents them all.

Discover More

Setting a Default for Shifting when Inserting

When you insert cells into a worksheet, Excel needs to know which direction it should shift the displaced cells. If you ...

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.

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

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 6 - 0?

2022-07-07 08:47:52

Michael

Willy,

Can that be done even if Enable fill and drag and drop is disabled?

Because I never use move cells feature but it sometimes gets activated when I grab call corner, or thereabouts, to pull down and copy formulas.

Michael

2022-05-14 05:45:29

Willy Vanhaelen

If you want to copy the range instead of moving it:
- in step 2. press and hold down the Ctrl key.
- The four-headed arrow changes in a + sign
- proceed with steps 3. and 4.

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.