Skip to main content

How to type in or edit cell without double clicking it in Excel?

Usually, when editing a cell with content, you need to double click it to get into the editing mode at first. For editing a cell with long content that exceeds the cell size, you need to get into the editing mode, and then find the accurate position to make the change. This tutorial introduces three methods, which can help to edit cell easily in Excel.


Type in or edit cell with pressing the F2 key

You can press the F2 key to get into the editing mode of a cell without double clicking it.

It is easy to operate, you just need to select the cell you want to edit and press the F2 key, and the cursor will be located at the end of the cell value, then you can edit the cell immediately.

Note: You need to press the F2 key repeatedly for editing all cells in a list.


View and edit a long content cell easily in Excel:

The Enhanced Edit Bar utility of Kutools for Excel can help you easily view and edit a long content cell without double clicking the cell or enlarging the Formula Bar.
Download and try it now! (30-day free trail)


Type in or edit cell with VBA code

If pressing F2 key is also time-consuming for you, you can try the following VBA method.

1. Press Alt + F11 keys simultaneously to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

2. In the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, please double click the sheet name (cells you need to edit locating in this worksheet) in the left bar to open the code window. Then copy and paste the below VBA code into the window.

VBA code: type in or edit cell without double clicking it

Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
'Update by Extendoffice 20190809
    SendKeys "{F2}"
End Sub

3. Press Alt + Q keys simultaneously to close the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

From now on, when selecting a cell or pressing the Enter key to move to the next cell in this worksheet, it will get into the editing mode automatically.


Edit a long content cell easily with an awesome feature

Here we introduce the Enhanced Edit Bar feature of Kutools for Excel. With this feature, you can edit a cell with long content easily without double clicking the cell.

Before applying the below operation, please go to download and install Kutools for Excel firstly.

1. Enable this feature by clicking Kutools > Show & HideEnhanced Edit Bar.

From now on, when selecting a cell, a window will pop up to display the whole content of it.

Directly editing the content in the window will simultaneously take effect to the cell.

Tip: Click Kutools > Enhanced Edit Bar to turn off the feature.

  If you want to have a free trial (30-day) of this utility, please click to download it, and then go to apply the operation according above steps.

Best Office Productivity Tools

🤖 Kutools AI Aide: Revolutionize data analysis based on: Intelligent Execution   |  Generate Code  |  Create Custom Formulas  |  Analyze Data and Generate Charts  |  Invoke Kutools Functions…
Popular Features: Find, Highlight or Identify Duplicates   |  Delete Blank Rows   |  Combine Columns or Cells without Losing Data   |   Round without Formula ...
Super Lookup: Multiple Criteria VLookup    Multiple Value VLookup  |   VLookup Across Multiple Sheets   |   Fuzzy Lookup ....
Advanced Drop-down List: Quickly Create Drop Down List   |  Dependent Drop Down List   |  Multi-select Drop Down List ....
Column Manager: Add a Specific Number of Columns  |  Move Columns  |  Toggle Visibility Status of Hidden Columns  |  Compare Ranges & Columns ...
Featured Features: Grid Focus   |  Design View   |   Big Formula Bar    Workbook & Sheet Manager   |  Resource Library (Auto Text)   |  Date Picker   |  Combine Worksheets   |  Encrypt/Decrypt Cells    Send Emails by List   |  Super Filter   |   Special Filter (filter bold/italic/strikethrough...) ...
Top 15 Toolsets12 Text Tools (Add Text, Remove Characters, ...)   |   50+ Chart Types (Gantt Chart, ...)   |   40+ Practical Formulas (Calculate age based on birthday, ...)   |   19 Insertion Tools (Insert QR Code, Insert Picture from Path, ...)   |   12 Conversion Tools (Numbers to Words, Currency Conversion, ...)   |   7 Merge & Split Tools (Advanced Combine Rows, Split Cells, ...)   |   ... and more

Supercharge Your Excel Skills with Kutools for Excel, and Experience Efficiency Like Never Before. Kutools for Excel Offers Over 300 Advanced Features to Boost Productivity and Save Time.  Click Here to Get The Feature You Need The Most...

Description


Office Tab Brings Tabbed interface to Office, and Make Your Work Much Easier

  • Enable tabbed editing and reading in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Visio and Project.
  • Open and create multiple documents in new tabs of the same window, rather than in new windows.
  • Increases your productivity by 50%, and reduces hundreds of mouse clicks for you every day!
Comments (9)
No ratings yet. Be the first to rate!
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Pp nhập mã VBA: "Khác+F11", Khác là phím nào trên bàn phím ạ
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Nguyen Xuan Hoa,

There is no difference, you just need to select the appropriate keys on your keyboard. Or you can open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window by clicking Developer > Visual Basic on the Excel ribbon.
https://www.extendoffice.com/images/stories/comments/comment-picture-zxm/visual.png
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Is there a way to have the go to the beginning of the cell when entering it rather than the end of the cell?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi,To display the cursor at the beginning of the selected cell, the following VBA code can help. Please have a try.<div data-tag="code">Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
'Updated by Extendoffice 20211231
SendKeys "{F2}{HOME}"
End Sub
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Great. Any way to set it up in VGA so that I can select a column or large column of data and just run it? - entering and exiting the cells until complete? Random request but I've been sent a data source and excel isn't detecting the dates in the cells until you have been in and out of the cell. I am a newbie, so any help is appreciated.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi Andy,
Sorry can't help you with that.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
(grateful emoji)!   Thank you ma'am! (or a word that expresses the utmost respect in whatever gender you identify with) (red heart emoji)
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
This is very helpful! Is there a way to apply the sendkeys F2 to only 1 cell in the worksheet? I don't need every cell that I click to go into edit mode, I only need one to do it.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
2 thumbs up
There are no comments posted here yet
Please leave your comments in English
Posting as Guest
Rate this post:
0   Characters
Suggested Locations