Fix: Cursor Locked in Select Mode on Excel

Is your cursor locked in select mode on Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is the leading spreadsheet tool in the world. It has been around for decades and has provided service to countless individuals, businesses, and professionals. With years of experience in the market, one would think that Microsoft had already figured it out, and Excel is flawless. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Like any software or tool, Microsoft Excel can suffer from downtimes and random errors. 

One of the most common issues on Microsoft Excel is the cursor getting stuck in select mode. 

When this occurs, you won’t be able to shift from one cell to another, and your cursor will continue to highlight or select multiple cells as you hover over your worksheet. 

Most of the time, this issue is caused by a temporary bug or glitch in Microsoft Excel. However, it can also be due to improper configurations, corrupted Excel resources, outdated app versions, or an issue with your mouse or trackpad. 

To help out, we’ve listed some of the best solutions for fixing your cursor if it’s locked in select mode on Microsoft Excel. 

1. Restart Your Device. 

As a common practice, we always suggest users restart their computers whenever they encounter problems with Microsoft Excel or any other app or software. This way, we can rule out any temporary errors that may have caused the issue. 

Check out the guide below to restart your computer: 

  1. First, open the Start Menu by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard. 
  2. Now, click on the Power Options tab. 
  3. Lastly, choose Restart to reboot your system. 
Restart your PC

Go back to Microsoft Excel afterward and confirm if the problem is solved. 

2. Disable Extended Selection.

Extended Selection is a function that allows users to select a range of cells in one go. However, you might have accidentally enabled the feature, which explains why your cursor is locked in select mode. 

To confirm this, check Excel’s status bar for the ‘Extend Selection’ notification. If you see it, you can simply press the F8 key on your keyboard to turn off the function. 

Try clicking on a random cell afterward to check if your cursor is still locked in select mode.

3. Disable Click Lock on Windows. 

Click Lock is a feature on Windows that allows you to highlight or drag on any app without holding the mouse button. If your cursor is locked in select mode, there’s a good chance that Click Lock is enabled in your mouse settings. 

Follow the guide below to turn off the feature: 

  1. On your keyboard, hit the Windows key to open the Start Menu
  2. After that, look for Mouse Settings and access it. 
  3. Now, click on Additional Mouse Options under the Related Settings tab. 
  4. Finally, go to the Buttons tab and ensure that Click Lock is turned off. 
cursor locked in select mode on Excel

Once done, go back to Microsoft Excel and check if your cursor is still locked in select mode. 

4. Turn Off Add or Remove Selection.

Microsoft Excel has another feature called Add or Remove Selection, which allows you to select multiple cells by simply clicking on them. If you happen to activate the feature unwillingly, it will create problems once you start hovering over your worksheet. 

To turn off the feature on Microsoft Excel, press the SHIFT + F8 keys on your keyboard. 

5. Update Microsoft Excel. 

If you still encounter problems with your cursor on Microsoft Excel, we suggest updating the app. This way, you can ensure that you have the latest working version of the app installed on your computer. 

Here’s how you can update Microsoft Excel:

  1. First, open Microsoft Excel and access the File tab. 
  2. Now, go to Accounts
  3. Lastly, click on Update Options and choose Update Now or Enable Updates
cursor locked in select mode on Excel

Restart the app afterward and check if the problem is solved. 

That ends our guide on how to fix your cursor if it’s locked in select mode on Microsoft Excel. If you have questions or any other concerns, please voice them out in the comment section, and we’ll do our best to help. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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