Selecting Visible Cells Only
Spreadsheets often have rows or columns that are hidden or grouped (note that we Marquee would generally prefer grouping for transparency and to avoid errors). When a range of cells is selected and copied, by default Excel will include any hidden cells (except when copying data from a Filter). This can
cause confusion and mistakes if the user does not realize this when pasting.
To select only the visible cells from a range:
– Highlight the desired range
– Press the F5 key (Go To)
– Select “Special”
– Select “Visible cells only”
– Select OK
In the Example below, two of the rows have been grouped:
After hitting OK, you will see that Excel will now highlight only what can been seen in the selection. Now this data can be copied and pasted as a discreet set of cells.
Like a lot of useful actions in Excel, there is a keyboard shortcut for this. After highlighting the entire range, press ALT + ; and only the visible cells will be selected.
Once the visible cells have been selected, you can now copy just those cells.