Navigation and the Ultimate Mouse

As most Excel Gurus will tell you, there are a great many ways to Navigate in his or her Excel workbooks.  Navigating can be a bit of drudgery, especially if you are working with very large worksheets. Not a concern if you are working with a worksheet with 20 records, but If you are working with one with 20,000 records, it’s a Big Deal!

Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for a length of time, you may know that I am a huge fan of using Keyboard Shortcuts for navigation. In fact, here are some of the more common moves you can make without ever touching the mouse:

1. Control / Down Arrow: Takes you to last cell in column with data
2. Control / Right Arrow: Takes you to last cell in row with data
3. Control / End: Takes you to the last row, column and cell
4. Control / Home: Returns to cell A1
And, of course, there are some very clever moves with you can make with any Mouse, and even in certain cases the Name Box.

Speaking of the Mouse (this is not an advertisement, just an observation…), computer mice have come a long way over the years. In search of the Perfect Mouse, I have gone through countless designs and models from nearly all the major manufacturers. None are “Perfect” of course, but I recently acquired what I consider to be the Best Mouse I have ever used in Excel.

The mouse is the Logitech MX Master.  It offers smooth operation, customization options, and good ergonomics. What I particularly like about it, however, is the Thumbwheel that lets you scroll side-to-side.  This enables you to rapidly Navigate right or left on your worksheet, just like the ubiquitous scroll wheel lets you Navigate vertically.  The only drawback that gripes people, is that it is a bit expensive.

Whether using keyboard shortcuts, mouse tricks, or the latest in computer accessory gear, it’s all about Navigation.  Happy journeys!