Range of Cells

A range of cells is a group of cells lying adjacent to each other. E.g., A1, A2, A3 or A1, B1, C1 etc. You can specify a range by giving the first cell address and the last cell address. E.g., a range starting from A1 to A20 would be written as B1: B20.

In the worksheet called First Terminal Examination Results, Sean has already typed in the names of the 20 students. He decides to save time by copying these names into the new worksheet named Second Terminal Examination Results.

But first, he must name the range that he wants to copy.

Before we see how to select and name a range, type in the names of the students, as they appear in the image.

To select the range from B1:B20

1. In the worksheet First Terminal Examination Results, select the first cell of the range i.e. B1.
2. Keeping the left mouse button pressed, drag the cursor over the range of cells up to B20.

To name this range

1. Click inside the “Name” box on the toolbar at the top of the worksheet.

2. Type Student_Name.

3. Press Enter.

The text will appear center-aligned in the name box.

TIPS: When naming a range, remember that range names:

1. Cannot begin with a number. The first character must be a letter or an underscore character.

2. Cannot have spaces in them. Underscore characters and periods may be used as word separators. E.g., Student_Name

3. Cannot be the same as a cell reference, such as A1B1.

4. Cannot use special characters like $, #, *, etc.

5. Cannot contain more than 255 characters.

To copy a range

1. Select the source range (B1:B20).

On the menu bar, select Edit > Copy.

Or, click the Copy button on the toolbar.

Or, right click and select Copy from the shortcut menu that appears.

Or, press Ctrl + C.

To paste the range,

1. Click on Sheet2

A blank worksheet opens.

2. Double click on the Sheet2 tab and type Second Terminal Examination Results.

1. Now, select the range B1:B20. This is where you want to paste the range Student_Name from the worksheet “First Terminal Examination Results”.
2. On the menu bar, select Edit > Paste.

3. Or, click the paste button on the toolbar.

Or, right click and select Paste from the shortcut menu that appears.

Or, press Ctrl + V.

4. The data from the worksheet “First Terminal Examination Results” is copied into the worksheet “Second Terminal Examination Results”.

You will now be able to see the student names in the selected range.

Clearing a range

If you want to erase data from a range, simply deleting it will not clear the range of all its contents, such as formats, and comments. In order to clear all the data from a range,

Select the range.

Click Edit > Clear.

A sub-menu will appear.

Choose from All, Contents, Formats, Comments.