Have you ever been working on a huge Excel spreadsheet with your fingers tired from scrolling and scrolling on the mouse, and clicking here, and clicking there, and thinking “There has got to be a faster way to do (insert frustration)!” Well, the good news is, there probably is a faster way, and that way would be Excel keyboard shortcuts or Excel hotkeys. In today's fast-paced world, efficiency is key, and these shortcuts will save you time and effort as you navigate those monster spreadsheets or even small ones. Once you learn them, you'll wonder how you ever did spreadsheets without them!
Table of Contents
What is an Excel Keyboard Shortcut?
It's just as the name suggests, it's doing something in Excel except you're using the keyboard to accomplish that task instead of using your mouse. So what could take you multiple mouse clicks, moving the mouse across the screen, and scrolling forever, could be done with a combination of keys typed. That's why is called a shortcut; it takes less time. Sounds useful right? It really is!
Now you might be thinking; “Am I going to have to remember all of these?” Absolutely not. I don't have them all memorized. I remember a few favourite ones that I use often and the rest of the time I use the mouse. In my opinion, it's not worth the time to memorize every single keyboard shortcut if you're the average Excel user, like myself.
You're unlikely to use them all, ever. There are some on this list that I have never used and never plan to. But you might, so I'm going to list them.
So what should you do? Pick a few that you feel will be the most useful to you and memorize those. As you use Excel more, you'll pick up more and you'll be surprised at how many you know after a while. I'll note the ones I use often as we go along. Let's get started.
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
Workbook Shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts are going to help you get started in a workbook. I use the first four quite often and have them memorized. If you're going to be working with multiple workbooks (not tabs, that's different), then #7 is going to be a lifesaver! Switching back and forth between workbooks is so time-consuming and frustrating.
The same goes for #10. If you have a super large spreadsheet, being able to jump to the end of the worksheet is going to save you a lot of scrolling! I use this one a lot.
1. | Ctrl + N | Create a new workbook |
2. | Ctrl + O | Open an existing workbook |
3. | Ctrl + P | Print the workbook |
4. | Ctrl + S | Save the workbook |
5. | Ctrl + W | Close the active workbook |
6. | Ctrl + F4 | Close the active window |
7. | Ctrl + Tab | Switch to the next workbook window |
8. | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Switch to the previous workbook window |
9. | Ctrl + Home | Move to the beginning of the worksheet |
10. | Ctrl + End | Move to the end of the worksheet |
Editing and Formatting Keyboard Shortcuts
These are your basic copy/paste functions, font options, etc. If you were to use your mouse, most of these would be found in the Home ribbon.
Number #11 and #13 are the ones I use the most, because use them the most. In my world of budgeting using Excel, I am always copying formatting or duplicating tables using these quick codes.
11. | Ctrl + C | Copy selected cells |
12. | Ctrl + X | Cut selected cells |
13. | Ctrl + V | Paste copied or cut cells |
14. | Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
15. | Ctrl + Y | Redo the last action |
16. | Ctrl + B | Applies bold formatting to selected cells |
17. | Ctrl + U | Applies underline formatting to the selected cells |
18. | Ctrl + I | Applies italic formatting to the selected cells |
19. | Ctrl + 1 | Opens ‘format cells' dialog box to apply various formatting |
20. | F4 | Repeat the last action |
Here are a few more editing and formatting keyboard shortcuts; these are a little more advanced as now we're moving into 3 key shortcuts.
21. | Ctrl + Shift + $ | Applies currency formatting to the selected cells |
22. | Ctrl + Shift + % | Applies percentage formatting to the selected cells |
23. | Ctrl + Shift + # | Applies date formatting to the selected cells |
24. | Ctrl + ; | Insert current date |
25. | Ctrl + Shift + ; | Insert current time |
26. | Ctrl + Shift + “ | Copy value from above cell |
27. | Ctrl + – | Opens dialogue box to delete the selected cells or rows. |
28. | Ctrl + Shift + + | Opens dialogue box to insert cells or rows. |
This is just a small sampling of the keyboard shortcuts available in Excel, there are lots more, but it would just be overkill and not that helpful to the average Excel user.
Learning these shortcuts may seem daunting at first, but remember, you don't have to memorize them all, or all at once. Try incorporating a few new shortcuts into your workflow each week until you feel comfortable using them. You'll be amazed at how much time and effort you can save by using these simple tricks.
Let me know below what your favourite keyword shortcuts are and happy shortcutting!
Hi! I'm Lindsay!
My nearly 20 years of experience working in various office settings have made me intimately familiar with the power and versatility of Microsoft Excel and I’m here to empower individuals who may not have had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with Excel through traditional means.
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