How to Select Non-Adjacent Cells in Excel Super Easy (2024)

In Excel, selecting cells comes first before any data entry, formatting, or calculations.

It’s easy to select cells that are close to each other.

But what if you need to select cells that are far from each other?

When you know how to select non-adjacent cells in your worksheet, you become more efficient as you apply any tasks to all the selected cells at once 😀

Let’s learn the different methods how to select non-adjacent cells in Excel in this lesson 👍

Table of Contents

Select non-adjacent cells with the cursor

The easiest and fastest way to select non-adjacent cells in Excel is by using your mouse.

Your mouse does need a little help from your keyboard to do it 😉

What key? The CTRL key of your keyboard.

Let’s select non-adjacent cells with this method.

  1. With your mouse, click on the first cell you want to select.

In our example, it’s A1. This is your active cell.

01 how to select non adjacent cells in Excel
  1. Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard.
  2. Click multiple non-adjacent cells you want to select.
02 selecting non adjacent cells or ranges using CTRL key

When the cell turns gray, that means it’s selected 😊

Not only that you can select non-adjacent individual cells, but you can also select non-adjacent range of cells as what you’ve seen above.

To do that, just drag your mouse to select adjacent cells, hold down the CTRL key, then select other adjacent cells or ranges in other columns or rows.

Select non-adjacent cells with keyboard only

Another method of how to select non-adjacent cells in Excel is by using only the keyboard.

If you’re an Excel user who prefers pressing keys to work in Excel, this method is for you.

Plus, using only the keyboard in working in Excel is super cool 😎

Here’s how to do that…

  1. Click on the first cell that you want to select.

In our example, it’s cell A1. This now becomes the active cell.

03 active cell among all the cells in an active worksheet
  1. Press the F8 key on your keyboard.

This will put your system in the “Extend Selection Mode” which allows you to extend the selection with just your arrow keys.

You can also see this mode in your Status Bar below 👀

04 Extend selection mode
  1. Now, use your arrow keys to select adjacent cells.

In our example, it’s cells A1 and A2.

05 select desired cells

This time, let’s select non-contiguous cells in the worksheet. To do that…

  1. Hold the Shift key and press the F8 key. (Shift + F8)

This changes the mode from “Extend Selection Mode” to “Add or Remove Selection Mode”

06 Add or Remove Selection Mode
  1. Use the arrow keys to move to the cells that you want to include in the selection.

In our example, we moved to cell C1.

07 next cell

If you want to include C1 in the selection,

  1. Press the F8 key again. Use the arrow keys to make the selection.

In our example, we selected cells C1 and C2.

08 select different cells
  1. Repeat the process.

Hold the Shift key and press the F8 key if you want to move to the cells you want to select.

Press the F8 key and use the arrow keys to select adjacent cells.

This may require your careful attention. But with constant practice, you’ll get the hang of it.

You’ll be selecting non-adjacent cells with the use of your keyboard like a PRO 😀

09 multiple non adjacent cells

Select non-adjacent cells using the name box

Another method of how to select non-adjacent cells in Excel is using the name box.

When is this method best used? 🤔

It’s best used when you need to select specific cells that are too far off from each other.

What is the Name Box in Excel? Where is it located?

The Name Box in Excel is located on the left side of Formula Bar. It’s used to give a name to any cell in the worksheet.

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist

All you need to do is to know the cell references of the cells you want to select 👍

Let’s say you want to select the following cells – A1, B2, C3, and D4.

Here’s how to select these non-adjacent cells using the Name Box:

  1. Click on the Name Box.
10 name or reference box
  1. Enter the cell references that you want to select.

Separate each cell reference by a comma.

A1,B2,C3,D4

11 cells separated by comma
  1. Press Enter.
12 select multiple cells

Look how the cells are instantly selected.

Also, it’s important to note that the last specified cell becomes the active cell.

Awesome, right? 😀

Well, there’s definitely more. You can use the name box to select non-adjacent ranges.

Let’s say you want to select these ranges of cells: A1:A5, C1:C5, E1:E5

13 selects multiple ranges

Press Enter.

13 adjacent cells or ranges

Instant selection! 🙌

Notes when typing cell names in the Name Box ✍

  • Use comma (,) as a separator for cells and ranges.
  • Use a colon (:) between the first cell and the last cell of the range you want to select.
Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist

That’s it – Now what?

Well done! 👏

Today, you’ve learned 3 different methods how to select non-adjacent cells in Excel.

This allows you to work efficiently by applying changes to the selected cells all at once 👍

Microsoft Excel has become the game changer when working with data in this digital age. Excel is now such a valuable skill to learn so you can work better and smarter in this fast-paced world 🚀

My best recommendations? Start learning the most useful Excel functions such as IF, SUMIF, and VLOOKUP.

My Free Advanced Excel Training will help you learn all these functions and how to use them to your advantage.

Click the link to begin your excellent Excel training 💪

Other resources

Learn to excel in Excel. We have tons of high-quality guides and articles for you.

Here are our best-recommended ones for your next Excel lesson: 👨‍🏫

Happy learning! 😊

Frequently asked questions

For Mac users, here’s how to select non-adjacent cells in Excel:

  1. Click on the first cell you want to select.
  2. Hold down the Command key on your keyboard.
  3. Click on the other cells you want to select.