How to Edit a Cell in Excel: 4 Easy Methods

Method 1 – Double Click to Edit a Cell 

Steps:

• Select any cell. We chose the D9 cell and double-clicked it.
• A cursor appears and blinks on this cell. This indicates that you can edit this cell.

• Press ENTER to confirm the change and move on to the next cell.

Method 2 – Edit the Active Cell Utilizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Steps:

• Choose a cell. We’ve shown the D14 cell as an example.
• Instead of double-clicking on the cell, press the F2 key if you’re a Windows user. The cursor pops up just like before. For Mac users, the keyboard shortcut is ^ U.

• Change the value of the cell.
• Press ENTER to keep the change.

Method 3 – Using the Formula Bar

Steps:

• Select a cell. We showed the D8 cell.
• Start typing in the box above the spreadsheet, as shown in the picture below.

• After completing your typing, click the green checkmark on the left to commit to the change.

Method 4 – Edit a Cell with VBA Code

Step 01: Open the VBA Editor

• Go to the Developer tab and then to Visual Basic.

Step 02: Insert the VBA Code

• Double-click on the sheet where you want to insert the VBA code.

• For your ease of reference, you can copy the code from here and paste it into the window as shown below.

Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range) 
'This code helps you to edit cell' 
SendKeys "{F2}" 
End Sub

Step 03: Run the Code

• Click Run or use the keyboard shortcut F5 to run.

• Return to your worksheet. Selecting any cell will enter into editing mode.

Issues When You Can’t Edit Cell

Issue 1 – When the Worksheet Is in Read Only Mode

• When you download a file from the internet, Excel by default opens the spreadsheet in Read-Only mode, which restricts any editing. To edit the file, simply press the Enable Editing icon.

• You can edit any cell in the worksheet.

Issue 2 – If the Spreadsheet Is Locked

A second reason for not being able to edit your worksheet could be that it is locked. If a worksheet is locked, then trying to edit it prompts the following message.

Steps:

• Navigate to the Review tab and click Unprotect Sheet.

• Type in the password and press OK.

• This should re-enable the editing option.

Issue 3 – Editing Is Disabled for the Worksheet

Steps:

• Navigate to the File tab located at the top left corner.

• Click the Options tab to open a new window.

• Press the Advanced tab and check the Allow editing directly in the cells box. Confirm the change by clicking OK.

• Editing is now enabled in your Excel worksheet.

Download the Practice Workbook

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