The cell edit box is located at the top of the worksheet window just above the column letter bar. The cell edit box shows the contents of the active cell and is used for editing cells. Use the cell edit box to see the contents of a worksheet cell when the column is too narrow to display all of the cell contents.
To begin editing the selected cell, press the F2 key. Alternatively, highlight the contents of the cell edit box to edit the cell. To overwrite the current cell contents, simply begin typing without pressing F2. If the mouse is clicked on a new cell, the new cell becomes the active cell.
Right-click in the active cell edit box to access the following commands in the context menu:
Right to left Reading order |
Toggles right to left reading order on or off. |
Show Unicode control characters |
Toggles the display of Unicode control characters on or off. |
Insert Unicode control character |
Select a Unicode control character from the list, and it is inserted in the active cell edit box at the cursor location. |
Open/Close IME |
When a user types a phonetic representation of a word, the IME displays a candidate list on the screen. The user can select the intended word or phrase from among several different possible representations in the candidate list, and the user's selection then replaces the phonetic representation in the document. This command toggles the IME on or off. |
Reconversion |
IME reconversion allows users who are typing in Japanese to convert back and forth between the phonetic spelling of a word (using the standard Western keyboard) and the Japanese character that represents the word. |
Special Key Functions when Editing the Active Cell:
Keyboard Command |
Action |
ESC |
ESC cancels edit mode and restores the original contents of the active cell. |
ENTER |
ENTER stores the contents of the cell edit box and then moves the active cell down one cell. |
CTRL+ENTER |
CTRL+ENTER completes the entry and keeps the current cell active. |
ARROWS (left and right) |
Left and right ARROWS move within the cell's text if the F2 key has been pressed. Otherwise, these keys store the contents of the cell edit box and then move the active cell to the left or right. |
ARROWS (up and down) |
Up and down ARROWS store the contents of the cell edit box in the active cell and move the active cell above or below. |
DELETE |
DELETE deletes the character to the right of the cursor if the F2 key has been pressed. Otherwise, pressing the delete key deletes the entire contents of the cell. |
BACKSPACE |
BACKSPACE deletes the character to the left of the cursor if the F2 key has been pressed. Otherwise, pressing the backspace key deletes the entire contents of the cell. |
PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN |
PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN store the contents of the cell edit box in the active cell and move one page up or down. |
TAB and SHIFT+TAB |
TAB and SHIFT+TAB store the contents of the cell edit box in the active cell and move the active cell to the right or left. |
See Also