Working in MS Excel involves a lot of pointing, clicking, switching menus and general use of the mouse. And, as anyone who has ever tried to select a large range of cells within an Excel worksheet will tell you, using a mouse cursor is not always simple or efficient.
However, Keyboard shortcuts are efficient and time-saving. When you are not constantly reaching for the mouse and instead using shortcuts, there will be a boost to your productivity. For instance, selecting all of the charts in a particular worksheet can be achieved by using the key combination of Ctrl + A. Key combinations also more accurate than even the best mouse when it comes to precise actions like this.
Using keyboard shortcuts can also have measurable health benefits, reducing the risk of RSI (Repetitive Syndrome Injury) and ULD (Upper Limb Disorders), which repetitive tasks like mouse use can cause.
(NB: Many of the shortcuts below use the Control key, the Alt Key, the Tab key or the Shift key. In some cases, two or more of these are used in combination, along with other keys.)
The Most Frequently Used Shortcuts in Excel
To do this | Press |
Close a workbook | Ctrl+W |
Open a workbook | Ctrl+O |
Go to the Home tab | Alt+H |
Save a workbook | Ctrl+S |
Copy | Ctrl+C |
Paste | Ctrl+V |
Undo | Ctrl+Z |
Choose a fill color | Alt+H, H |
Cut | Ctrl+X |
Go to Insert tab | Alt+N |
Bold | Ctrl+B |
Go to Page Layout tab | Alt+P |
Go to Data tab | Alt+A |
Go to View tab | Alt+W |
Add borders | Alt+H, B |
Go to Formula tab | Alt+M |
Hide the selected rows | Ctrl+9 |
Hide the selected columns | Ctrl+0 |
Ribbon Keyboard Shortcuts
The different tabs on the Excel ribbon can also be accessed using keyboard shortcuts.
To do this | Press |
Open the File page and use Backstage view. | Alt+F |
Open the Home tab and format text and numbers and use the Find tool. | Alt+H |
Open the Insert tab and insert PivotTables, charts, add-ins, Sparklines, pictures, shapes, headers, or text boxes. | Alt+N |
Open the Page Layout tab and work with themes, page setup, scale, and alignment. | Alt+P |
Open the Formulas tab and insert, trace, and customize functions and calculations. | Alt+M |
Open the Data tab and connect to, sort, filter, analyze, and work with data. | Alt+A |
Open the Review tab and check spelling, add notes and threaded comments, and protect sheets and workbooks. | Alt+R |
Open the View tab and preview page breaks and layouts, show and hide gridlines and headings, set zoom magnification, manage windows and panes, and view macros. | Alt+W |
Keyboard Shortcuts for Moving around Worksheets
To do this | Press |
Move to the previous cell in a worksheet or the previous option in a dialog. | Shift+Tab |
Move one cell up in a worksheet. | Up arrow key |
Move one cell down in a worksheet. | Down arrow key |
Move one cell left in a worksheet. | Left arrow key |
Move one cell right in a worksheet. | Right arrow key |
Move to the edge of the current data region in a worksheet. | Ctrl+Arrow key |
Move to the last cell on a worksheet, to the lowest used row of the rightmost used column. | Ctrl+End |
Extend the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner). | Ctrl+Shift+End |
Move to the beginning of a worksheet. | Ctrl+Home |
Move one screen down in a worksheet. | Page Down |
Move to the next sheet in a workbook. | Ctrl+Page Down |
Keyboard Shortcuts for Making Selections
To do this | Press |
Select the entire worksheet. | Ctrl+A or Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar |
Select the current and previous sheet in a workbook. | Ctrl+Shift+Page Up |
Extend the selection of cells by one cell. | Shift+Arrow key |
Extend the selection of cells to the last nonblank cell in the same column or row as the active cell, or if the next cell is blank, to the next nonblank cell. | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow key |
Add a non-adjacent cell or range to a selection of cells by using the arrow keys. | Shift+F8 |
Start a new line in the same cell. | Alt+Enter |
Fill the selected cell range with the current entry. | Ctrl+Enter |
Complete a cell entry and select the cell above. | Shift+Enter |
Select an entire row in a worksheet. | Shift+Spacebar |
Select the current region if the worksheet contains data. Press a second time to select the current region and its summary rows. Press a third time to select the entire worksheet. | Ctrl+A or Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar |
Select the first command on the menu when a menu or submenu is visible. | Home |
Repeat the last command or action, if possible. | Ctrl+Y |
Undo the last action. | Ctrl+Z |
Keyboard Shortcuts for Formatting Cells
To do this | Press |
Open the Format Cells dialog. | Ctrl+1 |
Enter the current time. | Ctrl+Shift+colon (:) |
Enter the current date. | Ctrl+semi-colon (;) |
Copy a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar. | Ctrl+apostrophe (‘) |
Move the selected cells. | Ctrl+X |
Open the Paste Special dialog. | Ctrl+Alt+V |
Italicize text or remove italic formatting. | Ctrl+I or Ctrl+3 |
Bold text or remove bold formatting. | Ctrl+B or Ctrl+2 |
Underline text or remove underline. | Ctrl+U or Ctrl+4 |
Switch between hiding objects, displaying objects, and displaying placeholders for objects. | Ctrl+6 |
Display or hide the outline symbols. | Ctrl+8 |
Use the Fill Down command to copy the contents and format of the topmost cell of a selected range into the cells below. | Ctrl+D |
Open the Insert hyperlink dialog. | Ctrl+K |
Display the Create Table dialog. | Ctrl+L or Ctrl+T |
There are many, many more Excel keyboard shortcuts.
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