Shortcuts for Excel To Save You Time

What are the benefits of using shortcuts in Excel?

Using shortcuts in Excel could have many benefits, including:
Reducing time using functions
Navigating easily to different tabs or cells
Creating new elements quickly
Removing or adding formatting or characters easily
Adding formulas and other elements with ease

General keyboard shortcuts

Here are 11 commonly used excel shortcuts:
Create new workbook: Ctrl+N or ⌘+N
Open workbook: Ctrl+O or ⌘+O
Save workbook: Ctrl+S or ⌘+S
Save as: F12 or ⌘+⇧+S
Close current workbook: Ctrl+W or ⌘+W
Print file: Ctrl+P or ⌘+P
Open options: Alt+F+T or ⌘+
Open help: F1 or ⌘+/
Undo last action: Ctrl+Z or ⌘+Z
Redo last action: Ctrl+Y or ⌘+Y
Repeat last action: F4 or ⌘+Y
Keyboard shortcuts for navigation
Try these 14 shortcuts to move around in your document:
Move one cell to the left: →
Move one cell to the right: ←
Move one cell up: ↑
Move one cell down: ↓
Move one screen to the left: Alt+PgUp or Fn+⌥+↑
Move one screen to the right: Alt+PgDn or Fn+⌥+↓
Move one screen up: PgUp or Fn+↑
Move one screen down: PgDn or Fn+↓
Move to the left edge of the data region: Ctrl+← or ^+←
Move to the right edge of the data region: Ctrl+→ or ^+→
Move to the top edge of the data region: Ctrl+↑ or ^+↑
Move to the bottom edge of the data region: Ctrl+↓ or ^+↓
Move to first cell in worksheet: Ctrl+Home or Fn+^+←
Move to last cell in worksheet: Ctrl+End or Fn+^+→

Keyboard shortcuts for extending selections

Here are 15 shortcuts to help you extend your selections:
Extend selection by one cell to the left: Shift+← or ⇧+←
Extend selection by one cell to the right: Shift+→ or ⇧+→
Extend selection by one cell up: Shift+↑ or ⇧+↑
Extend selection by one cell down: Shift+↓ or ⇧+↓
Extend selection to the last cell left: Ctrl+Shift+←or ^+⇧+←
Extend selection to the last cell right: Ctrl+Shift+→or ^+⇧+→
Extend selection to the last cell up: Ctrl+Shift+↑ or ^+⇧+↑
Extend selection to the last cell down: Ctrl+Shift+↓ or ^+⇧+↓
Extend selection left one screen: Alt+Shift+PgUp or Fn+⇧+⌥+↑
Extend selection right one screen: Alt+Shift+PgDn or Fn+⇧+⌥+↓
Extend selection up one screen: Shift+PgUp or Fn+⇧+↑
Extend selection down one screen: Shift+PgDn or Fn+⇧+↓
Extend selection to start of row: Shift+Home or Fn+⇧+←
Extend selection to first cell in worksheet: Ctrl+Shift+Home or Fn+^+⇧+←
Extend selection to last cell in worksheet: Ctrl+Shift+End or Fn+^+⇧+→

Keyboard shortcuts for formatting

These are 10 shortcuts to add or change your formatting:
Change format of selected cells: Ctrl+1 or ⌘+1
Apply or remove bold: Ctrl+B or ⌘+B
Apply or remove italics: Ctrl+I or ⌘+I
Apply or remove underlining: Ctrl+U
Apply or remove strikethrough: Ctrl+5 or ⌘+⇧+X
Align center: Alt+H+A+C or ⌘+E
Align left: Alt+H+A+L or ⌘+L
Align right: Alt+H+A+R or ⌘+R
Indent: Alt+H+6 or ^+⌥+Tab
Remove indent: Alt+H+5 or ^+⌥+⇧+Tab

Keyboard shortcuts for cells

Here are 16 common shortcuts used when working with individual cells:
Insert a cell comment: Shift+F2 or ⌘+Shift+F2
Copy cell contents: Ctrl+C or ⌘+C
Copy and delete cell contents: Ctrl+X or ⌘+x
Paste into a cell: Ctrl+V or ⌘+V
Select active cell only: Shift+Backspace or ⇧+Delete
Toggle the paste special dialog box: Ctrl+Alt+V or ⌘+Option+V
Enter data and move to the left: Shift+Tab or ⇧+Tab
Enter data and move to the right: Tab
Enter data and move to the next cell down: Enter or Return
Enter data and move to the next cell up: Shift+Enter or ⇧+Return
Enter data without moving: Ctrl+Enter or ^+Return
Insert current date into a cell: Ctrl+; or ^+
Insert current time into a cell: Ctrl+Shift+: or ⌘+;
Cancel entry: esc
Delete to the left of the cursor: Backspace or Delete
Delete to the right of the cursor: Delete or Fn+Delete

Keyboard shortcuts for rows and columns

These are eight shortcuts you can use for rows and columns:
Select a row: Shift+Space
Select a column: Ctrl+Space
Insert rows or columns: Ctrl+Shift++ or ⌘+⇧++
Hide selected rows: Ctrl+9 or ⌘+9
Unhide a hidden row: Ctrl+Shift+( or ⌘+Shift+(
Hide selected columns: Ctrl+0 or ⌘+0
Unhide selected columns: Ctrl+Shift+) or ⌘+Shift+)
Delete rows or columns: Ctrl+Shift+- or ⌘+⇧+-
Related: How To Alphabetize Excel Cells, Columns, and Rows

Keyboard shortcuts for formulas

Here are eight useful shortcuts for inserting or working with formulas:
Toggle absolute and relative references: F4 or ⌘+T
Open the insert function dialogue box: Shift+F3 or Fn+⇧+F3
Autosum selected cells: Alt+= or ⌘+⇧+T
Toggle formulas: Ctrl+or ^+
Insert function arguments: Ctrl+Shift+A or ^+⇧+A
Enter array formula: Ctrl+Shift+Enter or ^+⇧+Return
Calculate worksheets: F9 or Fn+F9
Expand or collapse the formula bar: Ctrl+Shift+U or ^+⇧+U
Related: Basic Excel Formulas and How To Use Them

Keyboard shortcuts for pivot tables

Here are six shortcuts for creating and editing pivot tables:
Create pivot table on a new worksheet: F11 or Fn+F11
Create pivot table on an existing worksheet: Alt+F1
Group pivot table items: Alt+Shift+→ or ⌘+⇧+K
Ungroup pivot table items: Alt+Shift+ or ⌘+⇧+J
Hide pivot table item: Ctrl+-
Open pivot table wizard: Alt+D+P or ⌘+⌥+P
Read more: How To Create a Pivot Table in Excel

Keyboard shortcuts for ribbons

These five shortcuts may help you when using ribbons:
Expand or collapse ribbon: Ctrl+F1 or ⌘+⌥+R
Activate access keys: Alt
Move to next ribbon control: Tab
Move to previous button: Shift+Tab or ⇧+Tab
Accept and Confirm: Enter or Return
Shortcuts for worksheets and workbooks
Here are 13 shortcuts regarding worksheets and workbooks:
Insert new worksheet: Shift+F11 or Fn+⇧+F11
Go to next worksheet: Ctrl+PgDn or Fn+^+↓
Go to previous worksheet: Ctrl+PgUp or Fn+^+↑
Go to next pane: F6 or Fn+F6
Go to previous pane: Shift+F6 or Fn+⇧+F6
Go to next workbook: Ctrl+Tab or ^+Tab
Go to previous workbook: Ctrl+Shift+Tab or ^+⇧+Tab
Minimize workbook window: Ctrl+F9 or ⌘+M
Maximize workbook window: Ctrl+F10 or Fn+^+F10
Select adjacent worksheets: Shift+Click or ⇧+Click
Select non-adjacent worksheets: Ctrl+Click or ⌘+Click
Toggle scroll lock: ScrLk or Fn+⇧+F14
Toggle full screen: ^+⌘+F