Microsoft Office

Part I
Getting Started with Excel
For more control over what gets deleted, you can choose Home ➪ Editing ➪ Clear. This command’s dropdown
list has four choices:
n
n
n
n
NOTE
Clear All: Clears everything from the cell.
Clear Formats: Clears only the formatting and leaves the value, text, or formula.
Clear Contents: Clears only the cell’s contents and leaves the formatting.
Clear Comments: Clears the comment (if one exists) attached to the cell.
Clearing formats doesn’t clear the background colors in a range that has been designated as a
table, unless you’ve replace the table style background colors manually.
Replacing the contents of a cell
To replace the contents of a cell with something else, just activate the cell and type your new entry, which
replaces the previous contents. Any formatting that you previously applied to the cell remains in place and
is applied to the new content.
TIP
You can also replace cell contents by dragging and dropping or by pasting data from the
Clipboard. In both cases, the cell formatting will be replaced by the format of the new data.
To avoid pasting formatting, choose Home ➪ Clipboard ➪ Paste and select Formulas or Paste Values.
Editing the contents of a cell
If the cell contains only a few characters, replacing its contents by typing new data usually is easiest. But if
the cell contains lengthy text or a complex formula and you need to make only a slight modification, you
probably want to edit the cell rather than re-enter information.
When you want to edit the contents of a cell, you can use one of the following ways to enter cell-edit mode:
n Double-clicking the cell enables you to edit the cell contents directly in the cell.
n Selecting the cell and pressing F2 enables you to edit the cell contents directly in the cell.
n Selecting the cell that you want to edit and then clicking inside the Formula bar enables you
to edit the cell contents in the Formula bar.
You can use whichever method you prefer. Some people find editing directly in the cell easier; others prefer
to use the Formula bar to edit a cell.
The Advanced tab of the Excel Options dialog box contains a section called Editing Options.
These settings affect how editing works. (To access this dialog box, choose Office ➪ Excel
Options.) If the option labeled Allow Editing Directly In Cells isn’t enabled, you aren’t able to edit a cell by
double-clicking. In addition, pressing F2 allows you to edit the cell in the Formula bar (not directly in the
cell).
NOTE
All these methods cause Excel to go into edit mode. (The word Edit appears at the left side of the status
bar at the bottom of the screen.) When Excel is in edit mode, the Formula bar displays two new icons: the
X and Check Mark (see Figure 3.3). Clicking the X icon cancels editing, without changing the cell’s contents.
(Pressing Esc has the same effect.) Clicking the Check Mark icon completes the editing and enters the
modified contents into the cell. (Pressing Enter has the same effect.)
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