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How to quickly tab between text boxes in Excel?

Author Sun Last modified

In Excel, pressing the Tab key typically moves you to the next cell, but it doesn't work for navigating between text boxes. If you have multiple text boxes and want to quickly cycle through them using the Tab key, you'll need to use a workaround. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to enable tabbing between text boxes using VBA code, or alternatively, how to toggle between sheets using Kutools for Excel's Navigation Pane.

Tab between text boxes using VBA code

Toggle between two sheets using Kutools for Excel

Tab between text boxes using VBA code

In Excel, tabbing between text boxes is not possible by default, unless you use VBA code.

1. Go to the sheet tab bar at the bottom, right-click the sheet tab that contains the text boxes you want to tab through, and click View Code from the context menu. See screenshot:
A screenshot showing the right-click menu in Excel with the 'View Code' option selected

2. In the popping Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, paste the below code to it.

VBA: Tab between text boxes

Private Sub TextBox1_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As _
MSForms.ReturnInteger, ByVal Shift As Integer)
If KeyCode = vbKeyTab = 1 Then TextBox2.Activate
End Sub

A screenshot of the pasted code in the VBA window

3. Save and close the window to return to the sheet. Then, select the first text box you want to tab through, and press the Tab key to move to the next text box.
A screenshot showing a selected text box in Excel with the Tab key being pressed to toggle between text boxes

Toggle between two sheets using Kutools for Excel

In Excel, one of the most common tasks is toggling between sheets. If you have Kutools for Excel, you can easily and quickly toggle between two sheets using its Navigation pane function.

Kutools for Excel offers over 300 advanced features to streamline complex tasks, boosting creativity and efficiency. Itegarate with AI capabilities, Kutools automates tasks with precision, making data management effortless. Detailed information of Kutools for Excel...         Free trial...

Click Kutools > Navigation to enable the Navigation Pane, then click Workbook & Sheet tab to go to the Workbook & Sheet section. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the Navigation button on Kutools tab in Excel
A screenshot of the Kutools for Excel Navigation Pane with the 'Workbook & Sheet' tab selected

Then click the Switch between last and current sheetbutton to switch between current sheet and last used sheet. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the Kutools for Excel Navigation Pane showing the 'Switch between last and current sheet' button

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Demo: Toggle between two sheets using Kutools for Excel

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