XL: Some Cells in Worksheet Not Selected Using TAB or SHIFT+TAB

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, if you press either TAB or SHIFT+TAB to move from cell to cell in a worksheet, some cells in the worksheet may not be selected, even though they are unlocked.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

• The worksheet contains one or more merged cells. The merged cells, as well as other cells, have been unlocked through the following steps:

      1. Selecting the cells.
  

      2. On the Format menu, clicking Cells, and then selecting the
         Protection tab.
  

      3. Clicking to clear the Locked check box, and then clicking OK.
  

      -and-
  

• The worksheet has been protected by clicking the Tools menu, pointing to Protection, and clicking Protect Sheet.

      -and-
  

• The Visual Basic EnableSelection property of the worksheet is set to 1, or xlUnlockedCells.

      -and-
  

• The cells that are not selected are adjacent to the merged cells.

RESOLUTION

To prevent this problem from occurring, set the EnableSelection property of the worksheet to zero (0), or xlNoRestrictions. To do this, follow the steps in either Method 1 or Method 2.

Method 1

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and click Control Toolbox.

2. Click the Properties tool in the Control Toolbox.

3. In the list of objects, select the worksheet (for example, Sheet1).

4. In the list box to the right of EnableSelection, select "0 - xlNoRestrictions".

5. Close the Properties window.

Method 2

1. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and click Visual Basic Editor.

2. If the Project Explorer window is not visible, click Project Explorer on the View menu.

3. In the Project Explorer, select the name of the worksheet (for example, Sheet1).

4. On the View menu, click Properties Window.

5. In the list box to the right of EnableSelection, select "0 - xlNoRestrictions".

6. On the File menu, click Close And Return To Microsoft Excel.

Note that you can also use the pointer to select unlocked cells in a worksheet, even if the EnableSelection property is set to xlUnlockedCells.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article, you can merge multiple cells in a worksheet into a single cell by following these steps:

1. Select the cells that you want to merge.

2. On the Formatting toolbar, click the Merge And Center tool. Or, click Cells on the Format menu, select the Alignment tab, click to select the Merge Cells check box, and click OK.

The following steps demonstrate this problem:

1. In Microsoft Excel, create a new workbook.

2. In Sheet1, select cells B2:D4. On the Formatting toolbar, click the Merge And Center tool.

3. Select cells B2:E5. On the Format menu, click Cells. Select the Protection tab. Click to clear the Locked check box, and click OK.

4. On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and click Protect Sheet. Click OK.

5. Select cell B2. Then, press the TAB key or SHIFT+TAB repeatedly.

   Note that each unlocked cell in the worksheet is selected as you press either the TAB key or SHIFT+TAB.

6. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and click Visual Basic Editor.

7. If the Project Explorer window is not visible, click Project Explorer on the View menu.

8. In the Project Explorer, select the name of the worksheet (for example, Sheet1).

9. On the View menu, click Properties Window.

10. In the list box to the right of EnableSelection, select "1 - xlUnlockedCells".

11. On the File menu, click Close And Return To Microsoft Excel.

12. Select cell B2. Then, press the TAB key repeatedly.

    Note that cells E3 and E4 are not selected; the selection jumps directly from cell E2 to cell B5.

13. Select cell B5. Then, press SHIFT+TAB repeatedly.