Microsoft Excel 
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SELECTING RANGES 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A contiguous range is any group of selected 
cells that form either a square or a rectangle. A 
single cell that is selected is also considered to 
be a range. Ranges can be selected using the 
mouse, the keyboard or a combination of the two. 
Once selected, you can use the range for input, or 
apply formatting, or copy the cells as required. 
Try This Yourself: 
Open 
File Before starting this exercise you 
MUST open the file E705 
Ranges_1.xlsx... 
 
Click on cell B7 to select it 
Because it is the only cell 
selected it is the active cell… 
 
Hold down the  key and 
click in cell E10 
Even though a range has been 
selected, the active cell is B7 – it 
appears in a different colour and 
its contents appear in the 
formula bar. You can keep the 
range selected and change the 
active cell within the range using 
the keyboard… 
 
Press  several times and 
watch the various cells become 
active through the selection 
 
Click in cell B7, hold down the 
mouse button, and drag down to 
cell C10 before releasing the 
mouse 
The previous selection has 
disappeared and the range B7 
to C10 is now selected… 
 
Press  and  to 
deselect the selected cells and 
return the cell pointer to cell A1 
 
For Your Reference… 
To select ranges with the mouse: 
1. Click in the left-most cell of the range 
2. Hold down the  key and click in the 
last cell, Or 
3. Drag the mouse pointer to the bottom right 
corner of the range 
Handy to Know… 
 When a range has been selected it can be 
used as an input range. You can then enter 
data into the active cell and move the active 
cell to either the cell below by pressing , 
or the adjacent cell by pressing . 
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