Excel add-in /plugin: find and select in Excel worksheets easily

Cells Assistant for Excel - Excel add-in/tool - Online Help

Cells Assistant for Microsoft® Excel®

For Microsoft Excel 2003, Excel XP (2002), Excel 2000.

How to use the Cells Assistant for Excel

1. Select the range of cells that includes the type of cells you want to select.
   To select all cells of this type on the active worksheet, click any cell.
2. Click Cells Assistant for Excel button on the toolbar.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To select cells that contain comments - choose Comments.
   • To select cells that contain constants - choose Constants. This selects all cells whose values do not start with an equal sign or contain a formula. The Options button on the toolbar allows choosing the type (types) of constants you want to get selected.
   • To select cells that contain formulas - choose Formulas. The Options button on the toolbar allows choosing the type (types) of formulas you want to get selected.
   • To select blank cells - choose Blanks. This selects all blank cells through the last cell on the worksheet that contains data or formatting.
   • To select the current region - choose Current region. This selects a rectangular cell range around the active cell. MS Excel selects a range within the boundary of any combination of blank rows and blank columns.
   • To select the current array - choose Current array. This selects an entire array if the active cell is contained in an array. An array formula can perform multiple calculations and then return either a single result or multiple results. Array formulas act on two or more sets of values known as array arguments. Each array argument must have the same number of rows and columns. You create array formulas in the same way that you create other formulas, except you press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER to enter the formula.
   • To select graphic objects - choose Objects. This selects all graphic objects, including charts and buttons on the worksheet and in text boxes.
   • To see row differences - choose Row differences. This selects cells whose contents are different from the comparison cell in each row. For each row the comparison cell is in the same column as active cell.
   • To see column differences - choose Column differences. This selects cells whose contents are different from the comparison cell in each column. For each column the comparison cell is in the same row as active cell.
   • To select precedent cells - choose Precedents. This selects cells that are referenced by the formula in the active cell. The Options button on the toolbar allows setting whether you want to select only cells directly referred to by formulas in the selection (choose Direct only) or cells directly or indirectly referred to by formulas in the selection (choose All levels). This is useful for selecting an entire network of cells that affect a particular cell on a complex worksheet, or for tracking the logic of a model one step at a time.
   • To select dependent cells - choose Dependents. This selects cells with formulas that refer to the active cell. The Options button on the toolbar allows choosing whether you want to select only cells with formulas that refer directly to the active cell (choose Direct only) or cells that directly or indirectly refer to the active cell (choose All levels). This is useful for selecting an entire network of cells that affect a particular cell on a complex worksheet, or for tracking the logic of a model one step at a time.
   • To select the last cell on the worksheet - choose Last cell. This selects the last cell on the worksheet that contains data or formatting.
   • To select visible cells - choose Visible cells only. This selects the visible cells on the worksheet so that changes you make affect only the visible cells, not cells in hidden rows or columns.
   • To select cells with conditional formats applied - choose Conditional formats. The Options button on the toolbar allows choosing whether you need to select all cells on the worksheet that have conditional formats (choose All) or cells that have the same conditional formats as the currently selected cell (choose Same).
   • To select cells with data validation rules applied - choose Data validation. The Options button on the toolbar allows choosing whether you need to select all cells on the worksheet that have data validation applied (choose All) or cells that have the same data restrictions and messages as the currently selected cell (choose Same). To see what the data restrictions and messages are for a cell, click the cell, and then click Validation on the Data menu.

Advanced features

Select the cell that contains formatting you want to select. Then do one of the following:

• To select all adjacent cells in the current row that contains the same formatting as the current cell - click the Smart Row Select button on the toolbar.
• To select all adjacent cells in a current column with the same formatting as a current cell - just click the Smart Column Select button on the toolbar.

These features are especially useful when formatting tables.