The Formula bar, just above the work area in Excel, shows the formula or value in the currently selected cell. You can click on the formula bar to edit information within a cell, if desired. What if you want to activate the Formula bar by using the keyboard, however? The quickest way to do this is simply to press F2. This tells Excel that you want to edit the contents of a cell. When you press F2, it is highly possible that Excel will simply expand the information in the cell and allow you to edit the information directly in the cell itself.
If you don't like this behavior, but instead want F2 to activate the Formula bar, follow these steps:. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 and later versions, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.).
Click the Advanced option at the left of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.) Figure 1. The advanced options in the Excel Options dialog box. Make sure the Allow Editing Directly In Cell check box is cleared. Click on OK. Now, whenever you press F2, the Formula bar is selected and you can edit the formula there using the normal editing keys.
![Key Key](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125662039/845613972.jpg)
Re: F2 shortcut doesn't work Hi I thought F2 enters into the cell that is active, and F4 just repeats the last action you did in Excel. Can you please elaborate on what is going wrong. If F2 also not work please check if you have FN (function) key in Excel, you need to press the function key, while click the F4 key (or other.
For instance, when you press F2, the insertion point will be at the end of whatever is shown in the Formula bar and you can use the arrow keys to move around. If you press Home, you'll go to the left side of whatever is in the Formula bar.