Excel Cursor is stuck on white cross on Windows PC [Fix]

If your cursor in Excel is stuck on a white cross, the solutions in this article may help you fix it. Because of this issue, you won’t be able to use the Fill Handle feature in Excel. Fill Handle makes the work easier. With this feature, you can fill data in cells quickly. To use Fill Handle, the white cross should change into the Plus icon when you place the white cursor on the bottom-right side of a cell. Because the cursor in Excel is stuck at a white cross, you have to enter all the data manually which can be very frustrating.

Excel Cursor is stuck on White Cross on Windows PC

To get rid of White-cross Plus-sign mouse cursor in Excel, use the solutions provided below:

Enable the fill handle and cell drag and drop option
Troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode
Reset your mouse pointer to the default
Repair Office

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

1] Enable the fill handle and cell drag and drop option

You can enable and disable the Fill Handle feature in Excel settings. If you disable the Fill Handle feature, the white cursor will not change. This is what happens in your case. Therefore, the Fill Handle feature is likely disabled in Excel. Check this in Excel settings. If you find it disabled, enable it.

The following instructions will help you how to enable the Fill Handle in Excel:

Open Microsoft Excel.
Open a new blank spreadsheet in it.
Go to “File > Options.”
Select the Advanced category from the left side.
Under the Edition options section, select the “Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop” checkbox.
Click OK to save the changes.

This should work. If not, try the other fixes explained below.

2] Troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode

An add-in may be causing the problem. To check this open Excel in Safe Mode and see if the problem occurs. If not, disable the installed add-ins one by one to find the culprit.

If the problem does not occur in Safe Mode, go through the following steps to find the problematic Add-in.

Exit Excel in Safe Mode and start it again in normal mode.
Create a new blank worksheet.
Go to “File > Options > Add-Ins.”
Select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down and click Go.
Uncheck any one of the enabled add-ins and click OK. This action will disable the selected add-in.
Now, check if the problem persists.

Repeat the above steps until you find the problematic add-in. Once you find the culprit, remove it and look for an alternative.

3] Reset your mouse pointer to the default

If the issue persists, try one more thing. Reset your mouse cursor to the default. The steps for the same are listed below:

Open the Control Panel.
Click on the Control Panel search bar and type mouse. Select Mouse from the search results.
In the Mouse Properties window, select your mouse cursor and click Use Default.
Click Apply and then click OK.

4] Repair Office

If Office files get corrupted, you may experience several issues in different Office applications. Some of your Office files may be corrupted. Repairing Office can fix the issue. First, run Quick Repair. If this does not work, run an Office Online Repair.

Read: Arrows keys not working in Microsoft Excel.

Why has my cursor changed to a cross?

If your cursor has changed to a cross shape, check if you have changed your mouse scheme. If you share a computer, someone may have installed a new mouse scheme. Open Mouse Settings and navigate to the Pointers tab. There, you can change your mouse scheme and reset your cursor to default.

Also, make sure that the ClickLock feature is turned off. ClickLock can lock your mouse cursor in a particular mode. You will find this option under the General tab in your Mouse Settings.

How to unlock a cell in Excel?

The lock cell feature in Excel works only if you protect the worksheet. To protect a worksheet, you have to enter a password. So, to unlock cells in Excel, you need the correct password. Without the correct password, you can not unlock cells in Excel.

Read next: Excel cannot Add or Create New Cells.