Editing Shortcuts: F2, Escape, Enter, Tab and F4

About this lesson

F2 opens the selected cell for editing. Escape cancels the edit. Enter and Tab confirm it and move down or right. F4 changes the reference under the cursor between relative, absolute and mixed.

By the end you can

open a cell for editing with F2 and abandon an edit with Escape.
confirm an entry and move down with Enter or across with Tab.
cycle a reference through its locked forms with F4.

The idea

These are the keys for the part of spreadsheet work nobody counts: fixing what is already there. F2 opens a cell without deleting what is in it. It shows every reference in a formula in its own colour. Escape gets you out of an edit you regret. Enter and Tab confirm and move, down or right. Shift with either one goes backwards.

F4 is the one people go years without learning. With the cursor on a reference in a formula, it changes B7 to $B$7, then B$7, then $B7, and round again. So a lock is one key press instead of two typed dollar signs in the right places. Outside an edit, F4 repeats the last action instead. That is a different and also useful thing.

The mistake to watch for

Retyping a whole cell to change one digit. F2 opens the cell with everything still in it. Escape cancels the edit and leaves no trace. And F4 with the cursor on a reference changes it through the four locked forms. That is faster and safer than typing dollar signs.

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Press the shortcut

The hinge count in C2 is wrong by one digit.

Open the cell for editing, keeping what is already in it.

Then you can fix the digit instead of typing the number again.

Part

Row	A	B	C	D
1	Part	Bin	Stock	Reorder at
2	Hinge	A3	140	50
3	Bracket	A4	32	40
4	Bolt M6	B1	910	300
5	Washer	B2	1200	500
6	Castor	C1	18	12
7
8

Every step

1

The hinge count in C2 is wrong by one digit. Open the cell for editing, keeping what is already in it. Then you can fix the digit instead of typing the number again.

Hint. A function key, on the top row.
2

Halfway through the edit you realise the original number was right. Abandon the edit and leave the cell exactly as it was.

Hint. Top-left corner of the keyboard.
3

You have typed a new count for the bracket. Confirm it and move straight down to the next part's count.

Hint. It confirms and goes down.
4

Now you are filling a row across rather than a column down. Confirm the entry and move to the cell on the right.

Hint. Left of Q.
5

You went one cell too far to the right. Step back to the cell on the left without using the arrow keys.

Hint. Shift, and the key from the last step.
6

You are editing a formula and the cursor is on B7, which should be locked. Cycle the reference through its four forms without typing a single dollar sign.

Hint. A function key, near F2.