6 Ways to Jump to a Specific Cell or Range in Google Sheets

This post is going to show you several ways to jump to a specific cell or range in Google Sheets.

When you are working with a large worksheet or you have a number of tables in the worksheet, you might need to jump to a specific cell in the same sheet or another sheet.

Scrolling over the page to find the relevant cell or range can be a difficult task.

It’s a basic functionality you use in your Google Sheets work. You likely navigate to a specific cell or range very frequently in your report or dashboard. 

In this article, you will learn all the different ways you can jump to a specific cell or range in Google Sheets.

  • Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the Name Box
  • Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with a Hyperlink
  • Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the HYPERLINK Function
  • Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the HELP Menu
  • Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with a Keyboard Shortcut
  • Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with App Script

Download a copy of the sample workbook to follow along,

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the Name Box

You can use the name box to navigate to a specific cell. It will allow you to type the cell or range address in the name box, and when you press Enter it will jump to that specific cell or range.

You can also name a range and then jump to it by inputting its name in the name box.  In the sample workbook, you have a named range called Details, which selects the range B50:H63.

Follow these steps to use the name box to jump to a specific cell or range.

  1. Click in the Name Box.
  2. Type a cell address or range of cells and press enter.

Google sheet will go to the specific cell or range of cells. You can use the below examples to navigate to different types of ranges.

  • Enter a value such as C9:D12 in the name box to jump to a specific range.
  • Enter a value such as 51:51 in the name box Jump to a specific row.
  • Enter a value such as A:A in the name box to jump to a specific column.
  • Enter the value Details or select Details from the small dropdown in the name box to jump to the specific named range.

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with a Hyperlink

You can also add a link to jump to a specific cell, range, an entire row, or an entire column.

This Hyperlink method is useful if you want to add a user-friendly option to navigate to a specific cell or range.

Follow these steps to insert a hyperlink in Google Sheet.

  1. Select cell D15 (or any cell where you need to add a hyperlink) and right-click on the cell.
  2. Select Insert Link from the options.

You can also insert a hyperlink with the Ctrl + K keyboard shortcut.

  1. In the Text input box type Details… (or any text to describe the purpose of the link).
  2. Press the Sheets and named ranges button.
  1. Click on the Select a range of cells to link option.
  1. Enter or select the cell reference and press the OK button.

Now when you click on the cell it will jump to the cell or range you defined in Step 6.

💡 Tip: You can create a table of contents that lists all the sheets in your workbook and then hyperlink to them.

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the HYPERLINK Function

You can use HYPERLINK function in Google Sheets to create a link that allows you to jump to a specific cell or range in the same sheet or another sheet.

Syntax for the HYPERLINK Function

= HYPERLINK ( url, [link_label] )
  • url is required. This is the complete URL of the link or concatenated text of the gid id and cell address.
  • link_label is optional and it is a label to display in the cell as the link.  The default value is the url.

The cell will be empty if the link label is the empty string literal "", but the link can still be accessed by clicking on the cell.

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the HYPERLINK Function

Here’s how to create a link within the same sheet.

= HYPERLINK ( "#gid=958830340" & "range=A51", "Go to A51 for Details..." )
  1. Select cell C17 in the hyperlinkFunction sheet.
  2. Enter the above formula in cell C17 using your gid value and the range A51.

Please note this uses the & operator to concatenate two text strings (gid and range) for the URL in the first input parameter. 

You will find the gid value in the URL of your browser address bar. It is a unique key for each sheet in your workbook.

Here’s how to create a link to another sheet.

 = HYPERLINK ( "#gid=0" & "range=A51", "Goto Sheet1 >> A51 for details" )
  1. Select cell C18 in the hyperlinkFunction sheet.
  2. Enter the above formula in cell C18 using your gid value and the range A51.

Note this uses the & operator to concatenate the gid and range for the URL.

You can obtain the gid value for the desired sheet in the browser address bar.

You can use either the complete URL from the address bar or only the gid value at the end. Using only the gid will help keep the formula short! 

When you hover the mouse over the hyperlink, a pop-up will appear underneath. This is where you can click on the link and be taken to the linked location.

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with the Help Menu

In Google Sheets, you can use Go to Range option in the Help menu to jump to a specific cell or range.

Follow these steps to use the Go to Range option to jump to a specific cell or range.

  1. Select the Help option in the menu.
  2. Click in the Search bar.
  1. Type Go To Range in the search bar then press Enter or click on the first result.

This will open up a small input box that will allow you to type range.

  1. Enter the cell address or range of cells in the search box.
  2. Press Enter to jump to the specified cell or range.

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with a Keyboard Shortcut

You can use the F5 keyboard shortcut in Google Sheet to open the Go To Range search box.

If you try to use F5 without enabling the compatible spreadsheets shortcuts, it will refresh the browser. This is because it’s a reserved browser keyboard shortcut.

You can override this shortcut and others by enabling the shortcut compatibility mode in Google Sheets.

  1. Select the Help menu and choose the Keyboard Shortcuts from the options.
  1. Enable the Enable compatible spreadsheet shortcuts option in the Keyboard shortcuts dialog box and then close the dialog menu.

Now when you press the F5 keyboard shortcut it will open the Go To Range search box.

Follow these steps to use the keyboard shortcut.

  1. Press F5, to open Go to Range search box.
  2. Enter the cell address or range in the search box.
  3. Press Enter to go to the specified cell or range.

Jump to a Specific Cell or Range with an Apps Script

Another way you can navigate to a specific location in your Google Sheets is by creating a button to run an apps script.

The app script will then move the active cell to the set location.

Follow these steps to add a button in Google Sheet.

  1. Select the Insert menu.
  2. Select Drawing from the option list.

This will open the drawing canvas dialog box where you use various drawing tools to create a custom button.

  1. Select the shape icon ➜ then choose Shapes ➜ and select the Rectangle to add a shape.
  1. Resize the shape to the desired height and width of the rectangle and add the caption text Go to Details…
  2. Press the Save and close button.

This will add a shape object that floats above the grid of your Google Sheets.

You can now add the apps script that will run from this button.

  1. Select the Extensions menu.
  2. Click on the Apps Script option.

The above steps will open the apps script code editor window in a new browser tab.

function jumpToDetails() {
  var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
  var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("AppScript");
  var goToRange = sheet.getRange('D17').getValue();
  sheet.getRange(goToRange).activate();
};

Copy and paste the above script into your Google Sheet app script code editor and press the save button.

Please note that your function name is jumpToDetails in this example.

You can then assign the above script to the Go to Details… button.

  1. Select your button then left click on the vertical three dots icon in the shape.
  2. Select Assign a script from the options.
  1. Enter the function name jumpToDetails and press the OK button.

The script refers to the cell value in D17 and will jump to the cell or range mentioned in that cell.

Cell D17 acts as an input for your jumpToDetails function similar to the Go To Range input menu.  You can type any cell or range value into this cell and execute the script.

Here are a few example text values to jump to specific columns, rows, ranges, or named ranges.

  • Enter A:A in cell D17 to select the entire column A.
  • Enter 1:1 in cell D17 to select the entire first row.
  • Enter C9:C12 in cell D17 to select a range.
  • Enter Details in cell D17 to jump to the named range Details.

Conclusions

You can utilize any of the Name box, Help menu, and Keyboard shortcut to your day-to-day Google Sheet navigation process. 

Adding hyperlinks either with the Insert menu or using the HYPERLINK function can be a user-friendly interface to move around your report or dashboard.

It’s also possible to create custom navigation buttons using drawing shapes and apps scripts! This can allow you to easily update the target cell or range before runtime.

Do you use any of the tips to navigate your Google Sheets? Do you know any other cell navigation tips? Let me know in the comments below!

About the Author

Arnold Layne

Arnold Layne

Arnold is a Google Workspace certified consultant and Google Sheets expert. He has over 15 years of experience in the IT industry and specializes in helping businesses implement and use Google products to increase efficiency and productivity. He is an avid traveler, and loves exploring new cultures and learning about different ways of life.

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Comments

6 Comments

  1. David Burt

    Mr. Layne, thank you for your article. I’m missing something. I want to write an app script in Google Sheets to enter data in certain cells of my spreadsheet. In the line, “var goToRange = sheet.getRange(‘B2’).getValue();” B2 is selected, however, I can’t type anything in the cell until I click on the cell defeating the purpose of the script.

    Plus, after typing the infomation, I want the script to move to the next cell (say E1) for that data to be entered either by pressing ENTER or TAB, then the next cell (say G2)is selected.

    I have created a button and assigned the script to it. How do I write the script so when I click the button, the first cell (B2) is selected and data can be typed in – or to move to the next cell (E1) and so forth?

    This is the scrip I’m running:

    function dataEntry() {
    var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
    var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("call");
    var goToRange = sheet.getRange('B2').getValue();
    sheet.getRange('E1').activate();
    };

    • John MacDougall

      SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getRange('B2').activate();

      This will select cell B2, so you can add that line to your code!

  2. Brian

    Thanks for the post. I was able to make the Apps Script work and be able to link around the page, but only on desktop. No luck on iPad though.
    I am aware that buttons don’t work on mobile devices, so I am using a drop down menu to activate scripts. This works for other scripts that I am running, but not this particular one.
    Any ideas on how to get this working for mobile?

  3. Mark Martin

    GID trick is great if using a browser and a PC, but what if using an app on a phone or tablet?

    • John MacDougall

      Hmm, not sure. If you find out, let me know!

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