How to select cells with specific text in Excel?
Supposing you need to quickly go to or select cells containing specific text from a huge worksheet, how can you quickly select cells with specific text in Excel? You can quickly select cells containing specific text as follows in Excel.
Using Find function to select cells containing specific text
Using Kutools for Excel to select cells containing specific text
Comparison of Methods for Selecting Cells with Specific Text in Excel
When you need to select cells containing specific text in Excel, you can use the built-in Find feature or Kutools for Excel's Select Specific Cells tool. Both methods can locate matching cells, but they differ significantly in selection options and criteria flexibility.
| Comparison | Excel Find | Kutools Select Specific Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Select cells containing specific text | ✔ | ✔ |
| Selection options | Matching cells | Cells, entire rows, or entire columns |
| Matching criteria | Search for the specified text with Find | Contains, Equal, and other available criteria |
| Multiple conditions | Limited for this selection task | Supports two criteria with AND / OR logic |
| Best for | Quickly finding and selecting cells containing one specific text | Selecting cells, rows, or columns based on more flexible text criteria |
Using Find function to select cells containing specific text
For example, I have a worksheet containing data of students, now I want to select all cells containing specific student name. Using Find function in Excel to select cell containing specific text as follows:
1. Click Home > Find & Select > Find, and a Find and Replace dialog box will pop out. Input the text that you need in the Find what dropdown list. See screenshot:
2. Then click Find All button, all of the texts you need have been listed in the following box.
3. And then press Ctrl + A to select all of the values in the box. Click Close button, all of the text that you need have been selected in the range. Seen screenshots:
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With Find function, you just only can select the cells, if you would like to select the entire rows with specific text, the method will not work.
Using Kutools for Excel to select cells containing specific text
With Select Specific Cells of Kutools for Excel, you can select both the cells and the entire rows with the specific values in a worksheet.
After installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:（Free Download Kutools for Excel Now!)
1. Select the range that you want to find the specific text.
2. Click Kutools > Select Tools > Select Specific Cells, see screenshot:
3. In the Select Specific Cells dialog box, specify the selection type that you need, and choose Contains from the Specific type dropdown list, then input the value that you want to select. See screenshot:
Tip: If you want to match entire cell contents, select Equal from the Specific type drop-down list.
4. Then click OK or Apply. A dialog pops out to remind the number of selected cells, close it, and all of the specified text will be selected.
Notes:
1. From the Specific type dropdown list, you can choose any other criteria that meet your need.
2. With this tool, you can select cells, entire rows or entire columns that you need. If you check Entire row, the result is as shown as below:
3. With this tool, you also can select two specific texts at the same time. Check Or indicate to select cells which contains oneof the two specific texts, check And means to select cells both contains the two specific texts.
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Conclusion
Excel's Find feature works well for a simple task where you need to locate and select cells containing a specific text. After using Find All, you can select all matching results at once with Ctrl + A. However, this method is mainly limited to selecting the matching cells themselves.
Kutools for Excel's Select Specific Cells offers greater flexibility. In addition to selecting matching cells, it can select entire rows or columns and supports criteria such as Contains and Equal. You can also combine two conditions using AND or OR, making it more suitable for complex selections in large datasets.
Related article
How to select cells based on certain criteria in Excel?
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