Working with Worksheet Data

There are three ways to enter data into the worksheet. Data are entered into the worksheet using File | Open to open a data file, typing data directly into the worksheet, or copying the data from another application and pasting it into the worksheet.

Entering Data into a Cell

Edit the contents of a cell by making it the active cell. The active cell is positioned by clicking on a cell with the mouse, by using the ARROW keys, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, TAB, HOME, END, and SHIFT+TAB. Press the F2 key or highlight the contents of the active cell edit box to edit the contents of the cell.

To enter new data and delete the old, position the active cell and begin typing. Edit mode is entered automatically and the old data is deleted. Pressing ENTER, Up or Down ARROWS, TAB, SHIFT+TAB, PAGE UP, or PAGE DOWN keys cause the edit changes to be recorded permanently in the cell. After pressing F2 or highlighting the cell edit box use the HOME, END, BACKSPACE, DEL, and ARROW keys to edit the cell. Pressing ESC while editing a cell cancels the changes and restores the original data.

Moving the Active Cell

You can designate any worksheet cell as the active cell by left-clicking on it with the mouse. The active cell can also be repositioned by using keyboard commands. The active cell is the cell with a thick border drawn around it. The following actions can be used to move the active cell:

ARROW keys (Up, Down, Left, Right) move the active cell to an adjacent cell.
PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN moves the active cell up or down by the number of rows visible in the window.
HOME moves the active cell to the first occupied cell in the current column. Pressing HOME again moves the active cell to the top row in the current column.
END moves the active cell to the last occupied row in the current column. Pressing END again moves the active cell to the bottom row of the worksheet.
ENTER moves the active cell down one row and ends "edit mode."
TAB moves the active cell right one column and ends "edit mode."
SHIFT+ENTER moves the active cell up one row and ends "edit mode."
SHIFT+TAB moves the active cell left one column and ends "edit mode."
CTRL+HOME moves the active cell to the top cell of the left most column in the worksheet (A1).
CTRL+END moves the active cell to the bottom occupied row of the last occupied column in the worksheet.
The CTRL+LEFT ARROW behavior depends on the position of the active cell. If the active cell is to the right of the last occupied column in the current row, it moves the active cell to the last occupied column in the current row. If the active cell is in or to the left of the last occupied column in the current row, but to the right of the first occupied column in the current row, it moves the active cell to the first occupied column in the current row. Otherwise, CTRL+LEFT ARROW moves the active cell to the first column in the current row.
The CTRL+RIGHT ARROW behavior depends on the position of the active cell. If the active cell is to the left of the first occupied column in the current row, it moves the active cell to the first occupied column in the current row. If the active cell is in or to the right of the first occupied column in the current row, but to the left of the last occupied column in the current row, it moves the active cell to the last occupied column. Otherwise, CTRL+RIGHT ARROW moves the active cell to the last column in the current row.
The CTRL+UP ARROW behavior depends on the position of the active cell. If the active cell is below the bottom occupied row in the current column, it moves the active cell to the bottom occupied row in the current column. If the active cell is below the top occupied row in the current column, but in or above the bottom occupied row in the current column, it moves the active cell to the top occupied row in the current column. Otherwise, CTRL+UP ARROW moves the active cell to the first row in the current column.
The CTRL+DOWN ARROW behavior depends on the position of the active cell. If the active cell is above the top occupied row in the current column, it moves the active cell to the top occupied row in the current column. If the active cell is above the bottom occupied row in the current column, but below the top occupied row in the current column, it moves the active cell to the bottom occupied row in the current column. Otherwise, CTRL+DOWN ARROW moves the active cell to the last row in the current column.

Moving the Active Cell within Selections

The ENTER, TAB, SHIFT+ENTER, and SHIFT+TAB keys move the active cell within a group of selected cells without canceling the selection.

Pasting Data

If data are copied to the clipboard from another software application, the contents of the clipboard can be pasted into the worksheet. If the source application is Microsoft Excel, some formatting information is retained. When pasting data into the worksheet, select a cell and use Home | Clipboard | Paste (CTRL+V). Any data to the right or below the active cell is overwritten, so be sure to locate the active cell carefully. When data are copied to the clipboard, special formatting information is also copied. The Home | Clipboard | Paste | Paste Special command determines the format in which the contents are pasted into the worksheet.

Data Tools Tab