One of the most time consuming spreadsheet tasks is to find the cell you are looking to work in on different sheets. You will find yourself scrolling up and down, left and right and in each sheet this could be different. There are some quick ways to make the cursor start on the same cell in each sheet, and it can be any cell.
Table of contents
YouTube Make the cursor start on the same cell in each sheet
Group the sheets, place your cursor and SWITCH OFF GROUPING
So below the yellow cells shows where the cursor is in each sheet. However, on all the sheets we need to change the Capex Amount in cell I92 and we want to (as quickly as possible) just go onto the sheet and be in the correct cell.
You can use the Grouping Feature for this.
- Click on a sheet (e.g. Mthly Div 1 below),
- then hover over the last sheet,
- hold the SHIFT button down, and click on this last sheet (Mthly Div 8 below).
You will see that the file name now includes the word group and the sheet tab colours are white. In this mode anything you do to one sheet happens to all (which is why it is so dangerous!).
Choose the cell you want all the sheets to start on either by clicking on it in one of the sheets or typing the cell name in the Name Box.
NB: Now switch off the grouping by right clicking on any sheet and clicking UNGROUP sheets.
You can now go to any sheet and start typing and it will be in the same cell (I92 above). If you want to see it first just use your right and left arrow to make the cursor move forwards then backwards so that you see the part of the screen where the cursor is.
NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU USE THIS TRICK, YOU SWITCH IT OFF AS SOON AS YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE CELL. DON’T TAKE A PHONE CALL, DON’T SPEAK TO ANYONE. SWITCH IT OFF FIRST.
Want to learn more about Microsoft Excel? If you prefer attending a course and live in South Africa look at the Johannesburg MS Excel 3 Day Advanced Course or the Cape Town MS Excel 3 Day Advanced training course. If you prefer online learning or live outside South Africa, look at our online MS Excel training courses.
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