Select all values in a column excel

Select cell contents in Excel

In Excel, you can select cell contents of one or more cells, rows and columns.

Note: If a worksheet has been protected, you might not be able to select cells or their contents on a worksheet.

Select one or more cells

1. Click on a cell to select it. Or use the keyboard to navigate to it and select it.

2. To select a range, select a cell, then with the left mouse button pressed, drag over the other cells.

   Or use the Shift + arrow keys to select the range.

3. To select non-adjacent cells and cell ranges, hold Ctrl and select the cells.

Select one or more rows and columns

1. Select the letter at the top to select the entire column. Or click on any cell in the column and then press Ctrl + Space.

2. Select the row number to select the entire row. Or click on any cell in the row and then press Shift + Space.

3. To select non-adjacent rows or columns, hold Ctrl and select the row or column numbers.

Select table, list or worksheet

1. To select a list or table, select a cell in the list or table and press Ctrl + A.

2. To select the entire worksheet, click the Select All button at the top left corner.

   

Note: In some cases, selecting a cell may result in the selection of multiple adjacent cells as well. For tips on how to resolve this issue, see this post How do I stop Excel from highlighting two cells at once? in the community.

To select	Do this
A single cell	Click the cell, or press the arrow keys to move to the cell.
A range of cells	Click the first cell in the range, and then drag to the last cell, or hold down SHIFT while you press the arrow keys to extend the selection. You can also select the first cell in the range, and then press F8 to extend the selection by using the arrow keys. To stop extending the selection, press F8 again.
A large range of cells	Click the first cell in the range, and then hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell in the range. You can scroll to make the last cell visible.
All cells on a worksheet	Click the Select All button. To select the entire worksheet, you can also press CTRL+A. Note: If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.
Nonadjacent cells or cell ranges	Select the first cell or range of cells, and then hold down CTRL while you select the other cells or ranges. You can also select the first cell or range of cells, and then press SHIFT+F8 to add another nonadjacent cell or range to the selection. To stop adding cells or ranges to the selection, press SHIFT+F8 again. Note: You cannot cancel the selection of a cell or range of cells in a nonadjacent selection without canceling the entire selection.
An entire row or column	Click the row or column heading. 1. Row heading 2. Column heading You can also select cells in a row or column by selecting the first cell and then pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns). Note: If the row or column contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key selects the row or column to the last used cell. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW key a second time selects the entire row or column.
Adjacent rows or columns	Drag across the row or column headings. Or select the first row or column; then hold down SHIFT while you select the last row or column.
Nonadjacent rows or columns	Click the column or row heading of the first row or column in your selection; then hold down CTRL while you click the column or row headings of other rows or columns that you want to add to the selection.
The first or last cell in a row or column	Select a cell in the row or column, and then press CTRL+ARROW key (RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW for rows, UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW for columns).
The first or last cell on a worksheet or in a Microsoft Office Excel table	Press CTRL+HOME to select the first cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list. Press CTRL+END to select the last cell on the worksheet or in an Excel list that contains data or formatting.
Cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)	Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+END to extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner).
Cells to the beginning of the worksheet	Select the first cell, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME to extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.
More or fewer cells than the active selection	Hold down SHIFT while you click the last cell that you want to include in the new selection. The rectangular range between the active cell and the cell that you click becomes the new selection.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

See Also

Select specific cells or ranges

Add or remove table rows and columns in an Excel table

Move or copy rows and columns

Transpose (rotate) data from rows to columns or vice versa

Freeze panes to lock rows and columns

Lock or unlock specific areas of a protected worksheet

See all How-To Articles

In this tutorial, you will learn how to select all cells with values in Excel.

Select All Cells With Values

In Excel, it’s easy to select all cells in a sheet or range, but it’s also possible to select all cells containing values at once with just a little more work. Say you have the data set below, with some values missing for Sales Amount (Column D). The following example will show how to select all cells in the range at once, excluding those without values.

1. Select the entire range (e.g., B3:D12) and in the Ribbon, go to Home > Find & Select > Go To Special.

1. In the Go To Special window, select Constants and click OK.
   When you select Constants, Numbers, Text, Logicals, and Errors are all checked by default. This means that all four types of data will be selected. If there are some types you don’t want to include, uncheck them.

As a result, cells that are not empty are selected, while empty cells (D5, D7, D9, and D10) are not.

See also

• Excel Go To Shortcut
• Using Find and Replace in Excel VBA
• Use Go To Command to Jump to Cell
• Go To Cell, Row, or Column Shortcuts

Working with Excel means working with cells and ranges in the rows and columns in it.

And if you work with large datasets, selecting entire rows and columns is quite a common task.

Just like with most things in Excel, there is more than one way to select a column or row in Excel.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to select a column or row using a simple shortcut, as well as some other easy methods.

I will also show you how to do this when you’re working with an Excel table or Pivot Table.

So let’s get started!

Select Entire Column/Row Using Keyboard Shortcut

Let’s start with the keyboard shortcut.

Suppose you have a dataset as shown below and you want to select an entire column (say column C).

The first thing to do is select any cell in Column C.

Once you have any cell in column C selected, use the below keyboard shortcut:

CONTROL + SPACE

Hold the Control key and then press the spacebar key on your keyboard

In case you’re using Excel on Mac, use COMMAND + SPACE

The above shortcut would instantly select the entire column (as you will see it gets highlighted in gray – indicating that it’s selected)

You can use the same shortcut to select multiple contiguous columns as well. For example, suppose you want to select both columns C and D.

To do this, select two adjacent cells (one in column C and one in Column D) and then use the same keyboard shortcut.

Selecting the Entire Row

If you want to select the entire row, select any cell in the row that you want to be selected and then use the below keyboard shortcut

SHIFT + SPACE

Hold the Shift key and then press the Spacebar key.

You will again see that it gets selected and highlighted in gray.

In case you want to select multiple contiguous rows, select multiple adjacent cells in the same column and then use the keyboard shortcut.

Also read: Select Every Other Row in Excel

Select Entire Column (or Multiple Columns) Using Mouse

I have a feeling you may already know this method, but let me cover it anyway (it will be short).

Select One Column (or Row)

If you want to select an entire column (say column D), hover the cursor over the column headers (where it says D). You will notice that the cursor changes to a black downward-pointing arrow.

Now, click the left mouse key.

Doing this will select the entire column D.

Similarly, if you want to select the entire row, click on the row number (in the row header on the left)

Select Multiple Contiguous Columns (or Rows)

Suppose you want to select multiple columns that are next to each other (say column D, E, and F)

Follow the below steps to do this:

• Place the cursor on the left most column header of column D
• Press the left mouse key and keep it pressed
• With the left key pressed, drag the mouse to also cover column E and F

The above steps would automatically select all the columns in between the first and the last selected column.

And the same way, you can also select multiple contiguous rows.

Select Multiple Non-Contiguous Columns (or Rows)

This is the most common scenario where you need to select multiple columns that are not next to each other (say column D, and F).

Below are the steps to do this:

• Place the cursor at the column heading of one of the columns (say column D in this case)
• Click the mouse left key to select the column
• Press and hold the Control key
• With the Control key pressed, select all the other columns you want to select

You can do the same with rows as well.

Select Entire Column (or Multiple Columns) Using Name Box

Use this method when you want to:

• Select a far-off row or column
• Select multiple contiguous or non-contiguos rows/columns

Name box is a small box that is left of the formula bar.

While the main purpose of the Name Box is to quickly name a cell or range of cells, you can also use it to quickly select any column (or row).

For example, if you want to select the entire column D, enter the following in the name box and hit enter:

D:D

Similarly, if you want to select multiple columns (say D, E, and F), enter the following in the name box:

D:F

And that’s not it!

If you want to select multiple columns that are not adjacent, say D, H, and I, you can enter the below:

D:D,H:H,I:I

When I used to work as a financial analyst years ago, I found this trick extremely useful. It allowed me to quickly select columns and format them at once, or delete/hide these columns in one go.

The Named Range Trick

Let me also show you another wonderful trick.

Suppose you’re working in a workbook where you may often have a need to select far-off columns (say column B, D, and G).

Instead of doing it one by one or entering it manually in the Name Box, here is what you can do – create a named range that refers to the columns you want to select.

Once created, you can simply enter the named range name in the Name box (or select it from the drop-down)

Below are the steps to create a named range for specific columns:

1. Select the columns for which you want to create the named range (hold the Control key and then select the columns one-by-one)
2. Enter the name you want to give to the selection in the Name Box (no spaces allowed in the name). In this example, I will use the name SalesData

1. Hit Enter

Once this is done, you have created a named range in Excel that now refers to the columns you selected (B, D, and G in my example).

And now it’s time for magic.

If you want to quickly select the columns B, D, and G, just enter the name in the Name box and hit enter (or click on the small drop-down icon at the end of the name box and select the name from the list).

Voila, all the columns would be selected.

This technique is useful if you may have a need to select the same columns multiple times in the same sheet.

You can use this technique to select rows as well as different ranges. For example, if you want to select two separate ranges in Excel, just follow the same steps (instead of selected columns, select the ranges and give them a name).

Select Column in an Excel Table

When working with Excel Tables, you may sometimes have a need to select an entire row or column in the table.

This means that you don’t want to select the entire column in the worksheet, but the entire column of the table.

Here is the trick to do this:

1. Place the cursor on the header of the Excel table (note this is the header of the column in the Excel table, not the one that displays the column letter)
2. You will notice that the cursor would chnage into a downward pointing black arrow

1. Click the left mouse key

The above steps would select the entire column in the Excel Table (and not the full column).

And if you want to select multiple columns, hold the Control key and repeat the process for all the columns you want to select.

Also read: AutoSum in Excel (Shortcut)

Select Column in an Pivot Table

Just like the Excel table, you can also quickly select an entire row or column in a Pivot Table.

Suppose you have a Pivot Table as shown below and you want to select the Sales columns,

Below are the steps to do this:

1. Place the cursor on the header of the Pivot table header that you want to select
2. You will notice that the cursor would chnage into a downward pointing black arrow

1. Click the left mouse key

These steps would select the Sales column. Similarly, if you want to select multiple columns, hold the Control key and then make the selection.

So these are some of the common ways you can use to select an entire column or an entire row in Excel.

I hope you found this tutorial useful!

Other Excel tutorials you may also like:

• Flip Data in Excel | Reverse Order of Data in Column/Row
• How to Lock Row Height & Column Width in Excel (Easy Trick)
• How to Delete All Hidden Rows and Columns in Excel
• 7 Easy Ways to Select Multiple Cells in Excel
• How to Insert Multiple Rows in Excel
• How to Copy and Paste Column in Excel? 3 Easy Ways!
• How to Multiply a Column by a Number in Excel
• Select Till End of Data in a Column in Excel (Shortcuts)
• How to Group Columns in Excel?

This post will guide you how to select all Cell values from every nth column in your worksheet in Excel. How do I select all cells in every nth column using a VBA Macro in Excel. How do I retrive or copy cell values from every nth column using a formula in Excel 2013/2016.

• Select All Cells from Every Nth Column Using VBA Macro
• Retrive All Cell Values from Every Nth Column Using Formula

Assuming that you have a list of data with hundreds of columns in a worksheet , and you wish to retrive all cell values from every second or third or nth column, etc. How to do it. You can select all cells from every nth column using a VBA macro quickly, and then press Ctrl + C short cuts to copy those selected cells. or You can use a formula to retrive all cell values from every nth column based on the OFFSET function and the COLUMN function.

Select All Cells from Every Nth Column Using VBA Macro

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To select all cells from every Nth column (such as: third column), and you can use an Excel VBA macro to quickly select them with the following steps:

Step1: open your excel workbook and then click on “Visual Basic” command under DEVELOPER Tab, or just press “ALT+F11” shortcut.

Step2: then the “Visual Basic Editor” window will appear.

Step3: click “Insert” ->”Module” to create a new module.

Step4: paste the below VBA code  into the code window. Then clicking “Save” button.

Sub CopyEveryNthColumn()
    Dim destRange As Range
    Set myRange = Application.Selection
    Set myRange = Application.InputBox("Select one Range tha that you want to select All nth columns:", "CopyEveryNthColumn", myRange.Address, Type:=8)
    nthNum = Application.InputBox("Please type one Nth number that you want to select: ", "CopyEveryNthColumn", Type:=1)
    For i = 1 To myRange.Columns.Count Step nthNum
        Set myCell = myRange.Cells(1, i + nthNum - 1)
        If destRange Is Nothing Then
            Set destRange = myCell
        Else
            Set destRange = Application.Union(destRange, myCell)
        End If
    Next
    destRange.EntireColumn.Select
End Sub

Step5: back to the current worksheet, click on Macros button under Code group. then click Run button.

Step6: Select one Range tha that you want to select All nth columns, such as: A1:F3 click on Ok button.

Step7:Please type one Nth number that you want to select, such as: number 3. click on Ok button.

Step8: you would see that every 3rd column has been selected. and then you can press Ctrl+C keys to copy them.

Retrive All Cell Values from Every Nth Column Using Formula

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You can also use an formula to copy or retrive cell values from every nth column(third column). see below:

=OFFSET($A1,0,(COLUMN(A1)*3)-1)

You need to type this formula into a blank cell (such as: A5)and press Enter key on your keyboard to apply it. then drag the AutoFill Handle from Cell A5 to same row cells unitl number 0 is displayed.

Keeping cells are selected. and drag the AutoFill handle down to other cells unitl number 0 is displayed.

Note: if you want to select or copy cell values from nth column in your worksheet, and you just need to change number 3 as you need in the above formula.

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• Excel COLUMN function
  The Excel COLUMN function returns the first column number of the given cell reference.The syntax of the COLUMN function is as below:=COLUMN ([reference])….