How Do I ... Use the Keyboard to Select Cells in a Word Table

Of course you can use your mouse to highlight cells in a Word table. But Word provides any number of ways to use the keyboard. These keyboard shortcuts are for Windows. They will work in both Word 2003 and Word 2007.

Extend a Selection

To extend a selection from one cell, hold down the <Shift> key and press any arrow key (Right, Left, Up, Down) to highlight cells.

Block a Selection

This is a beefier "extend" selection. Another plus to this technique is that you don't need to hold down a key while making the selection. To start, click in a cell, then press <Ctrl> + <Shift> + <F8>. Now,  press arrow keys (Right, Left, Up, Down) to block your selection. When done, press <Esc> to cancel selection mode.

Select All

To select an entire table in Microsoft Word place the cursor anywhere within the table. With the Num Lock off, press <Alt> + <Shift> + <Numeric Keypad 5>. The entire table is instantly highlighted.

Dell notebook users may not have access to an external numeric keypad. You'll need to make use of the embedded keypad. Numbers and symbols are marked in blue on the right of the keypad keys. Unlike above, you need to have the Num Lock on, be sure that the keypad is enabled. Press <Num Lk>. The Num Lock light (lock with the 9) should indicate that the keypad is active. On Dell Latitudes, the letter "I" corresponds to the keypad 5 key. So, the key combination to select the table would be <Fn> + <Alt> + <Shift> + <I>.