In Excel, say I want to enter "Item" in B2. .......

Question

Rather than going to cell B2 and typing it in there, is there any way to do it in the Formula Bar (from anywhere on the sheet) or from somewhere else in Excel, where I can something like give the instruction

B2="Item"

But nothing really complicated like using a macro, just wondering if there's a simple shortcut for updating a cell like that (especially if I have a short list of them to update).

Answer 1

Hi! In Excel, the Formula Bar edits the active cell, not an arbitrary cell by address. That means Excel does not have a simple built-in command syntax like that you can type from anywhere on the sheet to assign a value directly to B2.

The closest built-in method is to use the Name Box (to the left of the Formula Bar), type B2, and press Enter; or press F5 and type B2. Excel will jump to that cell, and then you can type Item in the Formula Bar and press Enter.

Answer 2

Yes. The simplest way is to select the cell from anywhere, then type in the formula bar.

For a single cell like B2:

1. Click anywhere in the sheet.
2. In the Name box (left of the formula bar), type B2 and press Enter – this selects B2 without scrolling.
3. Click in the formula bar, type Item, and press Enter.

This lets entering or editing values “remotely” without navigating with the mouse to the cell itself.

To edit an already selected cell without clicking the formula bar, press F2 to enter Edit mode, then change the text and press Enter.

For a short list of cells, repeat: type the cell reference in the Name box → Enter → type in the formula bar → Enter.

---

References:

• Use cell references in a formula
• Edit cell contents
• Keyboard shortcuts in Excel
• What can I do if I can't see or edit a cell because a control or object covers it?