Changes to cell selection

[scriven_j]

Hi,

So I had this infuriating problem where I was selecting a lot of cells (using CTRL+Click) and quite a way in to the exercise I made a mistake and tried to deselect (CTRL+Click) and found that the behaviour has been changed. If you CTRL+Click now then it just makes the cell get darker and darker.

I found a support page that mentions this:-

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2769340

It explains that this is a "feature" designed so that when you have multiple selections you can see overlaps.

That's great, but how do I deselect cells in this situation now? The support page simply suggests you start again which is completely infuriating. Does anyone have a method for deselecting cells in this situation without losing everything that you have already selected?

I can see some merit in this change, but changing the way something has worked for years (and works in the rest of Windows) seems crazy. How are people getting round this "feature"?


Jon

 

[Jonmo1]

It's been that way in all previous versions of Excel.
You can't DeSelect a cell after it was previously selected while holding the CTRL key.

I don't know what MS was thinking with the wording of the symptoms in that article. It's very misleading, and incorrect.
It's like they just quoted verbatim from user complaints without verifying the symtoms themselves.

 

[oldbrewer]

Important - i have been reprimanded for typing a response to this post "should have stayed on excel 2000". I meant no offense, it was intended as a light hearted "joke" - but nevertheless i unreservedly apologise for the post.

 

[scriven_j]

oldbrewer - I think that is pretty funny!

Jonmo1 - I am sure this used to work (and the support article suggests that this only changed with Excel 2013 and implies that this is a change of previous behaviour)

 

[Jonmo1]

The article is wrong, or at the very least misleading in the description of the symptoms.
The only thing that changed is the cell color getting darker with each subsequent click of a cell while holding CTRL.

If you know of a way to DeSelect a cell while holding CTRL, that would be great information.
Because to my knowledge, it's never been possible without the help of macros.

 

[scriven_j]

OK - looks like I have a false memory of doing this in the past (though from a Google search of "Excel deselect" I am not the only one!)

I guess I do this a lot in Explorer and have assumed that as you can select cells in this way in Excel like you can files in Explorer that you can deselect in the same way (like you can in Explorer). Sorry to have wasted your time, but maybe this will prove helpful to someone else going through the same memory failure!

Thanks for your help anyway.

 

[Jonmo1]

You're welcome.

Don't worry, it wasn't a waste of time. I was already here anyway...lol.