Putting the Wraps on the Data Entry
One of the most efficient ways to enter data into a new table in your spreadsheet is to preselect the range with the blank cells where you need to enter the data before you start doing any data entry. The reason that preselecting the blank cell range works so well is that in so doing, you constrain the cell pointer to that range - provided you press only the keystrokes shown in Table below show to complete the data entries and to move the cell pointer within the range. This frees you from having to pay any attention to repositioning the cell pointer when entering the table data. That way, you can keep all your attention where it should be on the printed copy from which you're taking the data.
Keystrokes for Moving within a Selected Cell Range| When You Press This | The Cell Pointer Moves Here |
| Enter | Down each row and then right across the remaining columns of the selected range. (Moves one column to the right, same as Tab when the selection consists of a single row.) |
| Shift+Enter | Up each row and then left across the remaining columns of the selected range. (Moves one column to the left when the selection consists of a single row.) |
| Tab | To the next column right and then to the beginning of the next row down in the selected range. (Moves down one row when the selection consists of a single column, same as Enter.) |
| Shift+Tab | To the next column left and then to the beginning of the row above in the selected range. (Moves up one row when the selection consists of a single column, same as Shift+Enter.) |
| Ctrl+period (.) | From one corner to the next corner of the selected range, in a clockwise direction. |
When entering data in a preselected range, you must not press an arrow key to complete any of the entries, or you'll end up collapsing the cell selection at the same time you put the new entry in the current cell.