return key within a cell range

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You can customize the behavior of the Enter key from the Excel options menu.

Here's how you can do it:

1. Access Excel Options:

Click on the "File" tab in the Excel ribbon to access the Backstage view.

Click on "Options" at the bottom of the list. This will open the Excel Options dialog box.

2. Navigate to Advanced Options:

In the Excel Options dialog box, click on the "Advanced" category on the left-hand side.

3. Locate Editing Options:

Scroll down until you find the "Editing options" section.

4. Change Direction After Enter:

Look for the option labeled "After pressing Enter, move selection" or similar.

By default, it's set to "Down" which means pressing Enter moves the selection down to the next cell in the same column.

5. Select Desired Behavior:

Change the selection to "Right" or "Right (legacy)" depending on your preference. This will make Excel move the selection to the cell on the immediate right after pressing Enter.

6. Apply Changes and Close:

Click "OK" to apply the changes and close the Excel Options dialog box.

After making this change, when you press Enter, Excel will move the selection to the cell on the immediate right instead of the cell below. This behavior will persist until you change it back in the Excel Options menu.

In combination, to navigate only to unlocked cells in Excel, you can lock cells and then unlock those you want to access. Here's how you can do it:

1. Lock Cells:

• Select the range or cells you want to lock.
• Right-click on the selected range and choose "Format Cells" from the context menu.
• Go to the "Protection" tab in the Format Cells dialog box.
• Check the "Locked" checkbox to lock the selected cells.
• Click "OK" to apply the changes.

2. Select Unlocked Cells:

• Highlight the cells you want to unlock for users to edit.
• Right-click on the selected range and choose "Format Cells" from the context menu.
• Go to the "Protection" tab in the Format Cells dialog box.
• Uncheck the "Locked" checkbox to unlock the selected cells.
• Click "OK" to apply the changes.

3. Protect Worksheet:

• After locking and unlocking cells, you can protect the worksheet to ensure only unlocked cells can be edited.
• Click on the "Review" tab in the Excel menu bar.
• Select the "Protect Sheet" option from the "Changes" dropdown menu.
• Enter a password if you want to protect the worksheet from unwanted changes (optional).
• Click "OK" to protect the worksheet.

After protecting the worksheet, users can only access and make changes to the unlocked cells. If they attempt to navigate to a locked cell, they will be prevented from doing so unless they first unlock the cells or enter the password if one was set.