Below is a listing of most of the major shortcut keys and key combinations usable in Microsoft Excel. See the computer shortcuts page if you are looking for shortcut keys used in other programs.
Tip7 Little-Known But Super Useful Excel Shortcuts For Windows and Mac Written by co-founder Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist. Keyboard shortcuts help save time and increase productivity. Unfortunately, most people only know the holy trinity of shortcuts — COPY, PASTE, and UNDO. In mac, we use CTRL+COMMAND+V key combination to open the paste special dialog. To select an option from the list, we use the COMMAND+letter key in mac. Let's have some examples to see the paste special shortcuts in action. Excel Paste Special Example. Here I have an excel table that is formatted and has formulas in it. Now press the shortcut. Keyboard Shortcuts for Excel on Windows and Mac One way of speeding up Excel is to integrate keyboard shortcuts in your workflow. Excel experts hardly use a mouse at all, because using a mouse takes more time and is often not precise.
To search for a specific item, modifier, or function, press Ctrl+F on your keyboard, type in keywords, and then click the up and down arrows.
Some of the Microsoft Excel shortcut keys below may not work in Excel 365.
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Tab | Move to the next cell, to the right of the currently selected cell. |
| Ctrl+A | Select all contents of a worksheet. |
| Ctrl+B | Bold all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+C | Copy all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+D | Fill down. Fills the cell beneath with the contents of the selected cell. To fill more than one cell, select the source cell and press Ctrl+Shift+Down to select multiple cells. Then press Ctrl+D to fill them with the contents of the original cell. |
| Ctrl+F | Search current sheet. |
| Ctrl+G | Go to a certain area. |
| Ctrl+H | Find and replace. |
| Ctrl+I | Puts italics on all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+K | Inserts a hyperlink. |
| Ctrl+L | Opens the Create Table dialog box. |
| Ctrl+N | Creates a new workbook. |
| Ctrl+O | Opens a workbook. |
| Ctrl+P | Print the current sheet. |
| Ctrl+R | Fill right. Fills the cell to the right with the contents of the selected cell. To fill more than one cell, select the source cell and press Ctrl+Shift+Right to select multiple cells. Then press Ctrl+R to fill them with the contents of the original cell. |
| Ctrl+S | Saves the open worksheet. |
| Ctrl+T | Open the Create Table dialog box. |
| Ctrl+U | Underlines all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+V | Pastes everything copied onto the clipboard. |
| Ctrl+W | Closes the current workbook. |
| Ctrl+X | Cuts all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+Y | Repeats the last entry (redo). |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo the last action. |
| Ctrl+1 | Changes the format of the selected cells. |
| Ctrl+2 | Bolds all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+3 | Puts italics all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+4 | Underlines all cells in highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+5 | Puts a strikethrough all cells in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+6 | Shows or hides objects. |
| Ctrl+7 | Shows or hides the toolbar. |
| Ctrl+8 | Toggles the outline symbols. |
| Ctrl+9 | Hides rows. |
| Ctrl+0 | Hides columns. |
| Ctrl+Shift+: | Enters the current time. |
| Ctrl+; | Enters the current date. |
| Ctrl+` | Changes between displaying cell values or formulas in the worksheet. |
| Ctrl+' | Copies a formula from the cell above. |
| Ctrl+Shift+' | Copies value from cell above. |
| Ctrl+- | Deletes the selected column or row. |
| Ctrl+Shift+= | Inserts a new column or row. |
| Ctrl+Shift+~ | Switches between showing Excel formulas or their values in cells. |
| [email protected] | Applies time formatting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+! | Applies comma formatting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+$ | Applies currency formatting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+# | Applies date formatting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+% | Applies percentage formatting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+^ | Applies exponential formatting. |
| Ctrl+Shift+* | Selects the current region around the active cell. |
| Ctrl+Shift+& | Places border around selected cells. |
| Ctrl+Shift+_ | Removes a border. |
| Ctrl++ | Insert. |
| Ctrl+- | Delete. |
| Ctrl+Shift+( | Unhide rows. |
| Ctrl+Shift+) | Unhide columns. |
| Ctrl+/ | Selects the array containing the active cell. |
| Ctrl+ | Selects the cells that have a static value or don’t match the formula in the active cell. |
| Ctrl+[ | Selects all cells referenced by formulas in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+] | Selects cells that contain formulas that reference the active cell. |
| Ctrl+Shift+{ | Selects all cells directly or indirectly referenced by formulas in the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl+Shift+} | Selects cells which contain formulas that directly or indirectly reference the active cell. |
| Ctrl+Shift+| (pipe) | Selects the cells within a column that don’t match the formula or static value in the active cell. |
| Ctrl+Enter | Fills the selected cells with the current entry. |
| Ctrl+Spacebar | Selects the entire column. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar | Selects the entire worksheet. |
| Ctrl+Home | Move to cell A1. |
| Ctrl+End | Move to last cell with text on the worksheet. |
| Ctrl+Tab | Move between Two or more open Excel files. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Activates the previous workbook. |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Inserts argument names into a formula. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Opens the drop-down menu for fonts. |
| Ctrl+Shift+O | Selects all of the cells that contain comments. |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Opens the drop-down menu for point size. |
| Shift+Insert | Pastes what is stored on the clipboard. |
| Shift+Page Up | In a single column, highlights all cells above that are selected. |
| Shift+Page Down | In a single column, highlights all cells above that are selected. |
| Shift+Home | Highlights all text to the left of the cursor. |
| Shift+End | Highlights all text to the right of the cursor. |
| Shift+Up Arrow | Extends the highlighted area up one cell. |
| Shift+Down Arrow | Extends the highlighted area down one cell. |
| Shift+Left Arrow | Extends the highlighted area left one character. |
| Shift +Right Arrow | Extends the highlighted area right one character. |
| Alt+Tab | Cycles through applications. |
| Alt+Spacebar | Opens the system menu. |
| Alt+Backspace | Undo. |
| Alt+Enter | While typing text in a cell, pressing Alt+Enter moves to the next line, allowing for multiple lines of text in one cell. |
| Alt+= | Creates a formula to sum all of the above cells. |
| Alt+' | Allows formatting on a dialog box. |
| F1 | Opens the help menu. |
| F2 | Edits the selected cell. |
| F3 | After a name is created, F3 will paste names. |
| F4 | Repeats last action. For example, if you changed the color of text in another cell, pressing F4 changes the text in cell to the same color. |
| F5 | Goes to a specific cell. For example, C6. |
| F6 | Move to the next pane. |
| F7 | Spell check selected text or document. |
| F8 | Enters Extend Mode. |
| F9 | Recalculates every workbook. |
| F10 | Activates the menu bar. |
| F11 | Creates a chart from selected data. |
| F12 | Save As option. |
| Shift+F1 | Opens the 'What's This?' window. |
| Shift+F2 | Allows the user to edit a cell comment. |
| Shift+F3 | Opens the Excel formula window. |
| Shift+F5 | Brings up a search box. |
| Shift+F6 | Move to previous pane. |
| Shift+F8 | Add to selection. |
| Shift+F9 | Performs calculate function on active sheet. |
| Ctrl+F3 | Open Excel Name Manager. |
| Ctrl+F4 | Closes current window. |
| Ctrl+F5 | Restores window size. |
| Ctrl+F6 | Next workbook. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F6 | Previous workbook. |
| Ctrl+F7 | Moves the window. |
| Ctrl+F8 | Resizes the window. |
| Ctrl+F9 | Minimize current window. |
| Ctrl+F10 | Maximize currently selected window. |
| Ctrl+F11 | Inserts a macro sheet. |
| Ctrl+F12 | Opens a file. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F3 | Creates names by using those of either row or column labels. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F6 | Moves to the previous worksheet window. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F12 | Prints the current worksheet. |
| Alt+F1 | Inserts a chart. |
| Alt+F2 | Save As option. |
| Alt+F4 | Exits Excel. |
| Alt+F8 | Opens the macro dialog box. |
| Alt+F11 | Opens the Visual Basic editor. |
| Alt+Shift+F1 | Creates a new worksheet. |
| Alt+Shift+F2 | Saves the current worksheet. |
Additional information
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Make working with spreadsheets a little easier with these Excel keyboard shortcuts that will have you working like the pros in no time:
Note: This article assumes you are using Excel on a Windows PC. If you are using a Mac, these shortcuts will change slightly. Here is a complete list of all Excel keyboard shortcuts on Mac.
Adding/Deleting Cells and Data
1. CTRL + SHIFT + PLUS SIGN (+)
Action: Inserts new cell
Whether it’s a row, a column, or a single cell, keep this shortcut handy to speed up data entry.
2. ALT + ENTER
Action: Inserts a new line within a cell
Excel isn’t Word, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be dealing with plenty of text in Excel. This shortcut makes entering comments ridiculously fast and easy.
3. SHIFT + F2
Action: Inserts a comment within a cell
Speaking of comments, just press SHIFT + F2 to add an explanatory pop-up note to a cell to make sure that your data won’t be misinterpreted.
4. CTRL + K
Action: Adds a hyperlink to the selected data
A shortcut you’ll turn to often when using external references.
5. CTRL + R
Action: Fills a cell with data from the adjoining cell to the left
Working with a lot of similar data? Then you’ll love this shortcut which makes data entry dramatically faster. No more CTRL-C, CTRL-V!
6. CTRL + D
Action: Fills a cell with data from the above cell
Another shortcut meant to ease data entry. It works exactly like the above, except, you know, in a different direction.
7. CTRL + ENTER
Action: Fills the entire selected cell range with the current entry
Few shortcuts are going to save you more time than this one. Using it is pretty simple as well: select a range, enter data into any one cell, and press this shortcut to populate the entire range with this data.
8. F11
Action: Creates a chart with the selected range
Microsoft has made it relatively easy to create charts with its Ribbon interface starting with Office 2007. This shortcut makes the process even smoother by creating a chart instantly with the given data.
9. CTRL + T
Action: Adds a table to the worksheet
Tables are a wonderful way to create flexible data structure that can expand or shrink dynamically. This shortcut makes adding tables a little easier, which will hopefully encourage you to use this feature more often.
10. SHIFT + F11
Action: Inserts a new worksheet
Pretty straightforward: use this shortcut to bypass the ‘insert worksheet’ button at the bottom. You’re going to use it pretty often if you work with big projects.
Selecting Cells and Data
1. F8
Action: Makes an extended selection of cells or data
This is similar to using the mouse to make a selection, except that you use the arrow keys. To use this shortcut, simply press F8 and press the arrow keys in the appropriate direction to make a precise selection.
2. CTRL + PageUp
Action: Switches active window to the next worksheet
Quite straightforward: instead of navigating from the buttons at the bottom, you can just press CTRL + PageUp to switch to the next worksheet.
3. CTRL + PageDown
Action: Switches active window to previous worksheet
Same as above, except it takes you back one step to the previous worksheet. Use the two shortcuts in conjunction to navigate through worksheets.
4. SHIFT + F5
Action: Opens the Find dialog box
Another shortcut you’re going to use very often is the Find dialog box, especially if you work with large spreadsheets where data can get lost easily.
5. CTRL + SHIFT + Space
Action: Selects the complete table
This shortcut is pretty straightforward: it selects all the cells within a table. There’s only one caveat though: the active cell must be within range of the table.
6. CTRL + ~
Action: Reveals the formulas across the entire spreadsheet
This shortcut will reveal all the formulas used across the worksheet – a great tool for scanning new and unfamiliar spreadsheets.
Editing and Formatting Cells and Data
1. F2
Action: Edits a cell
A simple shortcut you’ll turn to very often.
2. CTRL + 1
Action: Shows the Format Cells dialog box
Plain spreadsheets with black text in Arial look pretty dull. Pep things up with this shortcut to format, align and color the spreadsheet.
3. Data Formatting Shortcuts
These clutch of shortcuts will come in handy for quickly formatting cells to a desired data type:
- CTRL + SHIFT + 1: Formats the selected data as number format with two decimal places (12000 to 12,000).
- CTRL + SHIFT + 2: Formats the data in your chosen time format.
- CTRL + SHIFT + 3: Formats the data in your chosen date format.
- CTRL + SHIFT + 4: Formats the data in your chosen currency value (12,000 to $12,000).
- CTRL + SHIFT + 5: Formats the data as percentage value (1 to 100%).
- CTRL + SHIFT + 6: Formats the data into exponential value or scientific form (12000 to 1.20E+04).
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts For Excel
There are countless other shortcuts in Excel, but these 24 should be more than enough to help you get things done faster. Remember: you can always view commonly used shortcuts in the Ribbon interface by pressing ALT. You can also see a comprehensive list of all the shortcuts on the official Office website.
Excel Shortcuts For Mac Pdf
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