Invert Selection in Excel

Inverting a selection in Excel can be useful when you want to quickly select the opposite of your current selection.

For example, if you have selected a range of cells in Excel but realize that you need to select all the other cells except for the ones you have already selected, inverting your selection can save you time and effort.

Instead of manually selecting each cell or using complicated formulas to exclude certain cells, you can simply invert your selection to include all the cells that were not originally selected.

This feature is particularly useful when working with large data sets or complex spreadsheets where you need to make changes to multiple cells at once.

How to manually invert selection in Excel

To invert the selection in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Select the range of cells you want to invert.
2. Right-click on the selection and choose “Select All” from the context menu. This will select the entire worksheet.
3. While holding down the “Ctrl” key, click on the original selection to deselect it. This will leave you with the inverse selection.
4. Release the “Ctrl” key to finalize the new selection.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you have a spreadsheet with data in columns A through D, and you want to invert your selection for column B. Here’s what you would do:

1. Click on any cell in column B to select the entire column.
2. Right-click on the selection and choose “Select All” from the context menu. This will select the entire worksheet.
3. While holding down the “Ctrl” key, click on any cell in column B to deselect it. This will leave you with columns A, C, and D selected.
4. Release the “Ctrl” key to finalize the new selection.

Now you have successfully inverted your selection, and all cells in columns A, C, and D are selected except for those in column B.

How to Reverse selections in Excel with VBA

You can also reverse selections in Excel using VBA. Here’s an example of how to do it:

1. Open the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) by pressing “Alt” + “F11”.
2. In the VBE, insert a new module by clicking on “Insert” and choosing “Module”.
3. Paste the following code into the module:

Sub ReverseSelection()
    If TypeName(Selection) = "Range" Then
        Set FullRange = Selection.Worksheet.Cells
        Set InvertedRange = Application.Intersect(FullRange, _
            FullRange.Parent.UsedRange).Cells
        Set NewRange = Application.Except(FullRange, InvertedRange)
        NewRange.Select
    End If
End Sub

4. Save the module and return to the worksheet.
5. Select the range of cells you want to invert.
6. Press “Alt” + “F8” to open the Macros dialog.
7. Choose “ReverseSelection” from the list of macros and click “Run”.

Now your selection should be inverted! The VBA code works by first selecting the entire worksheet and then deselecting the original selection to obtain the inverse selection. It then creates a new range based on the inverse selection and selects it.

Note that this VBA code only works on one selection at a time. If you want to invert multiple selections simultaneously, you will need to modify the code accordingly.

How to Reverse selections in Excel in Mac

To reverse a selection in Excel on a Mac, you can use the following steps:

1. Select the cells that you want to reverse.
2. Hold down the “Shift” key and click on any cell within the selection. This will deselect all of the cells except for the one that you clicked on.
3. Press the “Control” key and click on the same cell that you clicked on in step 2. This will select all of the cells that were originally deselected and deselect the one that you clicked on in step 2.
4. Release the “Control” and “Shift” keys. Your selection should now be reversed.

Alternatively, you can also use the keyboard shortcut “Command + Shift + Backslash ()” to reverse a selection in Excel on a Mac.

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