Definition:
To highlight cells in Excel or another spreadsheet program is to use the mouse pointer to click on a cell or cells. It is also known as selecting data.
Before you can perform work on a cell such as formatting or include the data in a cell in a function or formula the cell must first be highlighted.
There are a number of ways to highlight cells including: drag select using the mouse, selecting adjacent cells using the Shift key and arrow keys on the keyboard, or typing a range in the Name Box.
When multiple cells are highlighted in a worksheet there is still only one active cell as seen in the image above.
Also Known As: selecting cells
Examples:
Before adding the formula to the
spreadsheet, use the mouse to highlight the cells to be included in the function. This way the range of cells will be entered correctly the first time.
