Microsoft Office

Working with Cells and Ranges 5
Option
Current Region
Current Array
Objects
Row Differences
Column Differences
Precedents
Dependents
Last Cell
Visible Cells Only
Conditional Formats
Data Validation
What It Does
Selects a rectangular range of cells around the active cell. This range is determined by
surrounding blank rows and columns. You can also the use Ctrl+Shift+* shortcut key
combination.
Selects the entire array. See Chapter 17 for more information about arrays.
Selects all graphic objects on the worksheet.
Analyzes the selection and selects cells that are different from other cells in each row.
Analyzes the selection and selects the cells that are different from other cells in each
column.
Selects cells that are referred to in the formulas in the active cell or selection (limited to
the active sheet). You can select either direct precedents or precedents at any level.
Selects cells with formulas that refer to the active cell or selection (limited to the active
sheet). You can select either direct dependents or dependents at any level.
Selects the bottom-right cell in the worksheet that contains data or formatting.
Selects only visible cells in the selection. This option is useful when dealing with outlines
or a filtered table.
Selects cells that have a conditional format applied (by choosing Home ➪ Styles ➪
Conditional Formatting).
Selects cells that are set up for data-entry validation (by choosing Data ➪ Date Tools ➪
Data Validation). The All option selects all such cells. The Same option selects only the
cells that have the same validation rules as the active cell.
TIP
When you select an option in the Go To Special dialog box, be sure to note which suboptions
become available. For example, when you select Constants, the suboptions under Formulas
become available to help you further refine the results. Likewise, the suboptions under Dependents also
apply to Precedents, and those under Data Validation also apply to Conditional formats.
Selecting cells by searching
Another way to select cells is to use Excel’s Home ➪ Editing ➪ Find & Select ➪ Find command (or press
Ctrl+F), which allows you to select cells by their contents. The Find And Replace dialog box is shown in
Figure 5.6. This figure shows additional options that are available when you click the Options button.
FIGURE 5.6
The Find And Replace dialog box, with its options displayed.
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