Excel knows better how to play with cells, columns, and rows. Working with cells and ranges in columns and rows is a fun thing to do. When you have larger datasets, you often have to choose entire columns and rows.
Excel has more than one solution to any query a user asks and here you will learn how to select the entire column in Excel. We have come up with a few simple keyboard shortcuts that can simply select entire columns.
How to Select Entire Column in Excel Using Keyboard Shortcut
Having a larger dataset will need you to choose columns carefully. Column selection is a highly important task you need to focus on.
Choose any cell in a column.
Press CTRL + Space bar keys from the keyboard. You will see the entire column is selected and highlighted. To highlight an entire column, you can also use this keyboard shortcut.
SHIFT + Spacebar
To select more than one column, you can use this shortcut.
Press SHIFT + Spacebar to select more than one column. Keep pressing and holding the SHIFT key and then press the spacebar. It will choose the entire column and adjacent columns as well.
CTRL + A
Here comes another useful shortcut key command.
You can select the entire sheet containing columns and rows by pressing CTRL + A. This shortcut command is useful for selecting the entire data on the current sheet.
CTRL + SHIFT + Arrow key
Using this shortcut key command, you can select a series of cells in a column. Press and hold the CTRL and then the SHIFT key. Right after pressing the SHIFT key, press the left or right arrow key. It will select all the cells between the cursor and the edge of a column.
CTRL + SHIFT + Home/End
Using this shortcut command will instantly select all the cells in a column. Press and hold the CTRL + SHIFT keys together and then press the Home or End key.
CTRL + Click
Applying this shortcut will let you select more than one non-adjacent column. Press and hold the CTRL key and click on the column headers you need to select. To select a large number of adjacent columns, this shortcut command is the best one.
CTRL + SHIFT + 8
This shortcut command is helpful in the selection of the entire column including headers. Press and hold the CTRL and SHIFT keys and then press the 8 key. When you need to select a column for formatting or data entry, this shortcut command is the best.
F4
Using this shortcut will instantly let you select a range of cells in a column. Press the F4 key and then use the arrow keys to choose the cells you need to select.
How to Select Entire Column in Excel with Go To Command
When you know the cell address of a column you need to select, simply you can use the Go To command for it:
- Open the Home tab.
- Click on the Find & Select button from the Editing group.
- You will see a drop-down menu from which you have to click on the Go To option.
- A dialog box will appear. Type the cell address of the first cell in the Reference field of the column that needed to be selected.
- Click on the OK button.
- You will notice all the columns are highlighted in blue.
Conclusion
You have learned enough keyboard shortcuts to select columns in Excel. With its abundance of features, Excel allows you to use any approach for your query. Each shortcut has differences and you can use them according to your needs.
