How to Select Cells and Basic Operations | Excel for Beginners #1 | Basic Usage Course

“Excel is just too much for me!”

Are you feeling that way?

But please rest assured.
Excel is much more accessible than you might think, and with just a few simple tips, it’s a tool that anyone can learn to master.

As you read through this note, I hope you start to feel like, “Hey, this might actually be kind of fun.”

And before you know it, you might find yourself using Excel naturally. Let’s learn it together, one step at a time.

In this first installment, we’ll explain how to select cells!

Actually, there are several ways to select cells.
As a first step, let’s take a careful look at them one by one.

Let’s try selecting by clicking

First, let’s confirm the basics.

A “cell” refers to each individual square on the Excel screen—the rectangular boxes lined up in the grid are cells.

To select a cell, you can simply click it with your mouse.

When you click, a border appears around the cell, letting you know which one you have selected.

Also, every cell has a name called a “cell address”.
For example, the spot where the horizontal header “B” and the vertical header “3” intersect is represented as “B3”.

This cell address will come into play later when using formulas, so keeping it in mind might make things easier to understand.

Cell addresses are represented by a combination of letters and numbers. For example, like “A1” or “B2,” they are characterized by a letter representing the column and a number representing the row being paired together.

You can check which cell is selected in the area called the “Name Box” at the top left of the screen. By looking here, you can immediately see which cell you are currently working on.

If you are ever unsure of your cell position while working, taking a quick glance at this area makes it easy to confirm.

Dragging to select multiple cells

When you want to select multiple adjacent cells at once, using a drag operation is convenient.

For example, if you want to select from "A1" to "D5", click "A1", then click and hold the mouse button, drag to the bottom right, and release at D5.
This will select all cells from "A1" to "D5".

Selecting multiple cells using the Ctrl key

When you want to select several cells that are far apart, it is convenient to use the Ctrl key.

First, click the first cell as usual to select it.

After that, try clicking the second cell while holding down the Ctrl key.

Furthermore, by continuing to click the third, fourth, and so on while holding down the Ctrl key,
you can select scattered cells all at once.

This is the perfect method for when you want to select only "A1", "C3", and "E5", for example.

At first, you need to get used to the hand movements a little, but it is very convenient once you can select cells freely, so please give it a try.

Selecting columns together

In Excel, a collection of cells in a vertical direction is called a "column".
It is characterized by being referred to as "Column A" or "Column B".

As you can see when scrolling the screen, Excel columns continue for a very long way down. Therefore, trying to select them by dragging the mouse downwards can sometimes be a bit troublesome.

In such cases, it is efficient to use "column selection" to select the entire column at once.

The method is very simple: just click the alphabetical part above the column you want to select.
For example, if you want to select "Column B", click the column header labeled "B".

With just this, the entire column down to the bottom will be selected all at once.

Selecting rows together

A collection of cells in a horizontal direction is called a "row".
For example, like "Row 1" or "Row 3", rows are characterized by being represented by numbers.

Just like with columns, rows can also be selected together with a single click.

When you place the mouse pointer over the "row number (digit)" part on the left side of the screen, it changes to a right-pointing arrow.
If you click in this state, the cells in that row will be selected all at once to the right edge.

For example, if you click the row number labeled "3", the entire "Row 3" will be selected.

This is a convenient operation when you want to adjust the layout of a table or set formatting for each row. As you get used to it, your work efficiency will increase significantly.

How to select multiple columns or rows

You can select multiple columns or rows at once, just like you do with cells.

For example, when you want to select adjacent columns or rows, it is easy to use a drag operation. After clicking the first column or row, move the mouse left, right, up, or down while holding down the mouse button to select a range all at once.

On the other hand, if you want to select columns or rows that are far apart, the operation changes slightly. First, click to select the first column (or row), and then
click each of the other columns or rows you want to select one by one while holding down the Ctrl key.

As you can see, there are several ways to select columns and rows.

The best method depends on the situation, so knowing various operations will make your Excel work much smoother. Let's find the selection method that works best for you as you get used to it little by little.

In this note, an active computer instructor has explained the basic operations of Excel in an easy-to-understand way.

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