Edit Using Excel 2010-Add, edit, find, and delete rows by using a data form

When a row of data in a worksheet is very wide and requires repeated horizontal scrolling, consider using a data form to add, edit, find, and delete rows.

Learn about data forms

A data form provides a convenient means to enter or display one complete row of information in a range or table without scrolling horizontally. You may find that using a data form can make data entry easier than moving from column to column when you have more columns of data than can be viewed on the screen. Use a data form when a simple form of text boxes that list the column headings as labels is sufficient and you don’t need sophisticated or custom form features, such as a list box or spin button.

Example of a typical data form

Microsoft Excel can automatically generate a built-in data form (data form: A dialog box that displays one complete record at a time. You can use data forms to add, change, locate, and delete records.) for your range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) or table (table: A collection of data about a particular subject that is stored in records (rows) and fields (columns).). The data form displays all column headers as labels in a single dialog box. Each label has an adjacent blank text box in which you can enter data for each column, up to a maximum of 32 columns. In a data form, you can enter new rows, find rows by navigating, or (based on cell contents) update rows and delete rows. If a cell contains a formula (formula: A sequence of values, cell references, names, functions, or operators in a cell that together produce a new value. A formula always begins with an equal sign (=).), the formula result is displayed in the data form, but you cannot change the formula by using the data form.

Note You cannot print a data form. In addition, because a data form is a modal dialog box, you cannot use either the Excel Print command or Printbutton until you close the data form. Alternatively, you can use the Windows Print Screen key to make an image of the form, and then copy it to Microsoft Paint or another program.

Create a data form

If necessary, add a column header to each column in the range or table. Excel uses these column headers to create labels for each field on the form.

Important Make sure that there are no blank lines in the range of data.

Click a cell in the range or table to which you want to add the form.
To add the Form button to the Quick Access Toolbar, do the following:
1. Click the arrow next to the Quick Access Toolbar, and then click More Commands.
2. In the Choose commands from box, click All Commands, and then select the Form button in the list.
3. Click Add, and then click OK.
On the Quick Access Toolbar, click Form .

Hide I see a message that states “Too many fields in the data form”

You can create a data form only for a range or table with 32 columns or less. If you can, reduce the number of columns.

Use a data form

You can use a data form to add, find, change, and delete rows in a range or table.

Add a new row of data

In the data form, click New.
Type the data for the new row.

To move to the next field in the row, press TAB. To move to the previous field, press SHIFT+TAB.

After you have finished typing data, press ENTER to add the row to the bottom of the range or table.

Hide I see a message that states “Cannot extend list or database”

If you add a row to a table or range by using a data form, Excel expands it downward. If expanding the table overwrites existing data, Excel displays the message Cannot extend list or database. Rearrange the data on your worksheet so that the range or table can expand downward from the last row.

Note Before you press ENTER, you can undo any changes by clicking Restore. Any data that you have typed in the fields is discarded.

Find a row by navigating

Do one or more of the following:

To move through rows one at a time, use the scroll bar arrows in the data form.
To move through 10 rows at a time, click the scroll bar in the area between the arrows.
To move to the next row in the range or table, click Find Next.
To move to the previous row in the range or table, click Find Prev.

Find a row by entering search criteria

Click Criteria, and then enter the comparison criteria (comparison criteria: A set of search conditions that is used to find data. Comparison criteria can be a series of characters that you want to match, such as “Northwind Traders,” or an expression, such as “>300.”) in the data form.

All items that begin with the comparison criteria are filtered. For example, if you type the text Davas a criterion, Excel finds “Davidovski” and “Davis.” To find text values that share some characters but not others, use a wildcard character as your criterion.

The following wildcard characters can be used as comparison criteria for filters, and when you search for and replace content.

Use
To find

? (question mark)
Any single character
For example, sm?th finds “smith” and “smyth”

* (asterisk)
Any number of characters
For example, *east finds “Northeast” and “Southeast”

~ (tilde) followed by ?, *, or ~
A question mark, asterisk, or tilde
For example, fy91~? finds “fy91?”

To find rows that match the criteria, click Find Next or Find Prev.
To return to the data form so that you can add, change, or delete rows, click Form.

Change data in a row

Find the row that you want to change.

For more information, see the sections Find a row by navigating and Find a row by entering search criteria.

Change the data in the row.