Enter key moves to cell below current, not tobeginning of data entry location

[dr.nixon]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Processor: Intel I have a spreadsheet in which I am entering data, one line at a time, using tab to move to the next cell as I go. At the end of the data set, I hit Enter to return to the beginning of the next line - except Excel is moving me to the first cell directly below the last cell I selected.

For example, if I add data to cells A1 - D1, then hit Enter, instead of going to A2 as expected I end up in D2. I have no idea why this is happening. It doesn't happen with any new files I open, it's just happening in the current workbook (.xlsx format, newly created, started by opening a .csv file then saving it as Excel format before adding more sheets). If I copy and paste the workbook contents to a new file, the same erroneous behavior occurs.

The behavior occurs with all sheets in this workbook.

Any ideas?

 

[CyberTaz]

Keep in mind that this is a "convenience feature" that falls into the
'intuitive' category

There are a number of variable which can affect how it behaves. Even if
working in a new sheet in a new book... If you start typing content but stop
along the way or go back to a previously completed cell (i.e., to correct a
typo) pressing return at the end of the row will return the selector to the
next row, but in the column where you made the correction. Or if you start
in other than the first cell in a row, tab to the end, then press return it
will put you below the cell where you started. In fact, it could put you in
the cell below either of the completed cells in the row you're leaving.

AFAIK, there is no setting or Preference for it. The feature is simply 'hit
or miss'. The only way to have some degree of control is to define the range
using the List Manager [Insert> List], but even that isn't absolute.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[dr.nixon]

But it works just fine in every other Excel file - except this one. It's a bug of some kind, probably because it started as a CSV file. Except, again, other files that started as CSV don't do this, and copy-pasting the sheet into a new workbook doesn't fix anything. I'm not editing anything, just entering numbers, tab to next cell, enter at end of line, and it isn't working.

 

[John_McGhie_[MVP]]

What setting do you have in Excel>Preferences>Edit for "After pressing
RETURNE..." ?

Cheers

But it works just fine in every other Excel file - except this one. It's a bug
of some kind, probably because it started as a CSV file. Except, again, other
files that started as CSV don't do this, and copy-pasting the sheet into a new
workbook doesn't fix anything. I'm not editing anything, just entering
numbers, tab to next cell, enter at end of line, and it isn't working.

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]