SOLVED

why does F4 cell lock not work in excel 2016 for windows 10

Copper Contributor

I cant lock my cells using f4 shortcut nor look into them using F2 in Excel 2016. Could someone please help? I'm using Dell inspiron with windows 10

10 Replies

Felix, i guess for Dell Inspiron we speak about combinations Fn+F4; Fn+F2, etc. Do your functional keys work in other applications (Word, etc)?

Thank you so much Sergei , its working perfectly now ^_^

I'm moving this conversation into the Excel space so more Excel users can see this question and answer.

best response confirmed by Felix Mathew (Copper Contributor)
Solution

Hi Felix,

 

The problem isn't in Excel, it's in the computer BIOS settings.

The function keys are not in function mode, but are in multimedia mode by default!

You can change this so that you don't have to press the combination of Fn+F4 each time you want to lock the cell.

To do that, open the BIOS settings on the computer startup, and then find the responsible option to change the function keys mode!

 

Check this link.

 

Hope that helps

Haytham

Thanks for the hints on the fn+F4.  Works great when just using my HP Envy x360.  But when I dock and use a Bluetooth keyboard (Microsoft comfort keyboard 5050), I can't find a hot-key combination that locks the cell.  Any ideas?

Hi @Robert Wunderlick,

 

I think this is what you looking for:

Microsoft Keyboard fn Key.png

Thanks!  That's perfect!

My case is a bit different. I have a Dell Latitude 7400, I have "disengaged" the Function (fn) for the F keys, so they work independently, and all F keys work fine except for F4, which doesn't work... @Haytham Amairah 

I was also facing the same problem. Everytime you have to press the Fn key and the F4 key. If you don't want to use the FKeys for other multimedia settings you can go to the control panel and change the setting in mobility settings from multimedia to function keys. ( For Dell Inspiron)
1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by Felix Mathew (Copper Contributor)
Solution

Hi Felix,

 

The problem isn't in Excel, it's in the computer BIOS settings.

The function keys are not in function mode, but are in multimedia mode by default!

You can change this so that you don't have to press the combination of Fn+F4 each time you want to lock the cell.

To do that, open the BIOS settings on the computer startup, and then find the responsible option to change the function keys mode!

 

Check this link.

 

Hope that helps

Haytham

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