Solved: How do I select and copy combined column in Excel sheet effectively

Question

I have an Excel sheet with lot of rows. I like to combine column A and column B in column C. Usually, I will click the lower corner in C2 and drag it all the way to the bottom to copy the same formula I have apply in C2 to the rest. Is there an effective method to quickly select from C3 all the way to the bottom of column C?

Solution

This assumes there are no blank cells in your B column until the end of the data. Here’s the basic idea:

Step 1: Enter the formula into C2 as you normally would.

Step 2: Select C2 and copy it (CTRL+C).

Step 3: Click on C3.

Step 4: Press and hold SHIFT-CTRL.

Step 5: Press LEFT-ARROW to extend the selection to be C3 and B3 now.

Step 6: Press END to extend selection of both columns B and C to the bottom of the data.

Step 7: Release just the CTRL key.

Step 8: Press the RIGHT-ARROW to collapse the selection to just the C column, from C3 to the bottom of the data.

Step 9: Release the SHIFT key.

Step 10: Paste (CTRL-V).

Note: Try this on a small test worksheet with maybe 30 rows of data to allow you to see everything happening and let you practice the keystrokes.