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This tutorial will demonstrate how to select non-adjacent cells or columns in Excel & Google Sheets.
Occasionally we may wish to format or delete the contents of cells or columns that are not next to each other. It is more efficient to select all these cells at once.
Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns with the Keyboard
The Control Key
1. Select the first column or range of cells that are required.
2. Hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard and select the second range of cells required.
3. Keep holding down the CTRL key while selecting all the required ranges by dragging the mouse or using the arrows on the keyboard.
4. We can then format or delete the contents of the cells, as required.
Shift F8 – Add to Selection
1. By pressing SHIFT + F8 on the keyboard, you put Excel into Add to Selection mode.
2. A message will be shown on the status bar in the bottom left hand corner of the Excel screen.
3. With this mode you can select non-adjacent cells and columns by simply selecting them with the mouse.
Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns Using Go To
1. In the Ribbon, select Home > Find & Select > Go To.
Alternatively, press F5 or CTRL + G on the keyboard.
2. In the Reference box, type in the range of cells that you wish to select. Each range needs to have the cell addresses separated by a colon (:) and then each range of cells separated by a comma (,).
3. Click OK to highlight the range of cells.
The ranges of cells do not need to match. We can select 10 cells in one column and 5 cells in another if this is required.
We can also select a row of cells and a column of cells together.
Select Non-Adjacent Cells or Columns with Google Sheets
Holding down the CTRL key on the keyboard and dragging over the required cells with the mouse is the only way that non-adjacent columns and cells can be selected in Google Sheets.
Sometimes you may need to format or delete some non-adjacent cells or ranges, and work will be easier if you can select these non-adjacent cells or ranges together firstly. And this article is going to brings you some tricky ways to select non-adjacent cells or ranges quickly.
Quickly select non-adjacent cells or ranges with keyboards
1. With Ctrl key
Just press and hold down the Ctrl key, and you can select multiple non-adjacent cells or ranges with mouse clicking or dragging in active worksheet.
2. With Shift + F8 keys
This does not require holding down keys during selection. Press the Shift + F8 keys firstly, and then you can easily select multiple non-adjacent cells or ranges in active worksheet.
Quickly select non-adjacent cells or ranges with Go To command
The Microsoft Excel's Go to command can help you select non-adjacent cells or ranges quickly with following steps:
1. Click the Home > Find & Select > Go to (or press the F5 key).
2. In the Go To dialog box, enter the cell/range positions in the Reference box, and click lick the OK button.
And then all corresponding cells or ranges will be selected in the workbook. See screenshot:
Note: This method requires user to figure out the cells or ranges position before selecting them.
You may have noticed Microsoft Excel does not support copy multiple inconsecutive cells (staying in different columns) at the same time. But copying these cells/selections one by one waste of much time and is tedious! Kutools for Excel’s Copy Ranges utility can help get it done easily as below screenshot shown. Full Feature Free Trial 30-day!
Quickly select non-adjacent cells or ranges with Kutools for Excel
If you have Kutools for Excel, its Select Range Helper tool can help you select multiple non-adjacent cells or ranges in the whole workbook easily.
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1. Click the Kutools > Select > Select Range Helper….
2. In the Select Range Helper dialog box, check the Union Selection option, next select multiple ranges as you need in the whole workbook, and then click the Close button. See screenshot:
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Demo: select non-adjacent cells or ranges in Excel
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