Turn the option to edit directly in cells on or off - Help and How-to

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Turn the option to edit directly in cells on or off

Applies to: Microsoft Office Excel 2003

By default, the option to edit directly in cells is turned on so that you can edit the contents of a cell directly in the cell. When you turn this option off, you can only edit the contents of cells in the formula bar (formula bar: A bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.).

On the Tools menu, click Options.
On the Edit tab, do one of the following:
- To allow editing of data in cells on the worksheet, select the Edit directly in cell check box.
- To allow editing of data only in the formula bar (formula bar: A bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.), clear the Edit directly in cell check box.