How do you activate a cell in Microsoft Excel?

Answer 1

To select a cell (If you are looking for the answer for an IT class.)

Click on the cell using the mouse, or using the arrow keys, move the cursor to the cell you want. You could also press the F5 key and use the Goto command to go to the cell that you want to be active. You could also type its address into the Name Box. The Active Cell will show a black box around it or if it is part of a range it will be the only white cell. You'll also see the address of the Active Cell in the Name Box, beside the Formula Bar, so that you will know which cell it is.

Answer 2

Click on the cell or move to it in another way, like using the arrow keys on the keyboard or the Goto command which is activated by pressing the F5 key, or by typing a cell address in a Name Box.

Answer 3

It means to click on the cell, so that it is the cell that is being used. If you have multiple cells selected, there is still only one active cell. You can move around the selected set of cells by pressing the Enter key, and so change which cell the active cell is.

Answer 4

A border appears around the cell to highlight it and the fill handle will be visible. Its address will appear on the Name Box. If there is any content in the cell, it will appear on the Formula Bar.

Answer 5

If you click on it or move to it using the keyboard or Go To facility, thus selecting it, then it is the active cell. Pressing F2 or just typing will start entering something in it.

Answer 6

Move to it by clicking on it or pressing the right arrow or you could even press F5 to initiate the Goto command and then type in the cell reference for the cell you want to move to.

Answer 7

You make a cell active by clicking on it or moving to it using the keyboard. Pressing F2 can let you edit the contents of the active cell.