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Excel In Seconds Tips and Tricks from The Excel Addict - Microsoft Excel 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 365


March 28, 2017

Greetings from The Excel Addict

Hi fellow Excel Addict,

In today's 'Excel in Seconds' tip, I'm going to show you what you can do if you 'Don't Like In-Cell Editing'.

In my last 'Excel in Minutes' tip from Thursday, I showed you how you can 'Monitor Key Cells in Your Workbook'. if you missed it you can read it here.

Please feel free to share my newsletter with your Excel friends — they will thank you for it.

Hope you're having a great week and keep on Excelling,
Francis Hayes (The Excel Addict)
Email:  fhayes[AT]TheExcelAddict.com
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Excel in Seconds with TheExcelAddict.com

 Don't Like In-Cell Editing?

Whenever you need to edit data in a cell there are several ways to do it. One, you can double-click the cell and you will be put into 'edit mode' right in the active cell. Two, you can click in the Formula Bar and edit the data there. Or, three, you can press the F2 key to activate 'edit mode' in the active cell.

When you have a long formula and you edit it right in the cell by pressing the F2 key or double clicking in the cell, the full formula is displayed on the worksheet and often obscures other cells in the same row. This can sometimes make it difficult to see values in the cells referred to in the formula. It can be especially annoying when you have to replace a cell in the formula with a cell that is obscured because now you can't select it.
Prevent In-Cell Editing in Microsoft Excel 2007 2010 2013 2016 365
If you like the ease of pressing F2 to start editing but don't like the way the surrounding cells are obscured by in-cell editing, you can 'have your cake and eat it too' simply by changing one setting.

Here's how...
1) From the File tab, click Options;

2) Click Advanced on the left of the dialog;

3) One of the options near the top is 'Allow editing directly in cells'. Clear this check box;

4) Click OK.
Avoid Editing Directly In Cells in Microsoft Excel 2007 2010 2013 2016 365
Now, whenever you press F2, the editing takes place in the Formula Bar and none of the surrounding cells are obscured.
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