Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet application that can be used to manage data, create reports, and make calculations. There are many excel keyboard shortcuts that can help you get the most out of the application. Here are some of the best ones:

  1. CTRL+SHIFT+E: This shortcut allows you to insert a hyperlink into a spreadsheet.
  2. CTRL+F5: This shortcut opens the Find dialog box and finds all sheets in the workbook.
  3. CTRL+F6: This shortcut opens the Filter dialog box and selects all cells in a column with a specific value.
  4. CTRL+F7: This shortcut opens the Format Cells dialog box and sets the font, color, and alignment for all cells in a column.

Even if you’re familiar with Microsoft Excel, you might be surprised by the number and variety of keyboard shortcuts you can use to speed up your work and generally make things more convenient.

Now, does anyone expect you to memorize all these keyboard combos? Of course not! Everyone’s needs are different, so some will be more useful to you than others. And even if you pick up a few new tricks, it’s worth it. We’ve also tried to keep the list clean and simple, so go ahead and print it that helps!

Also, even though our list of shortcuts here is pretty long, it’s by no means a complete list of every keyboard combo available in Excel. We’ve tried to keep it to the more generally useful shortcuts. And, you’ll be happy to know that almost all of these shortcuts have been around for a long time, so they should be helpful no matter what version of Excel you’re using.

General Program Shortcuts

First, let’s take a look at some general keyboard shortcuts for manipulating workbooks, getting help, and a few other interface-related actions.

Ctrl+N: Create a new workbook Ctrl+O: Open an existing workbook Ctrl+S: Save a workbook F12: Open the Save As dialog box Ctrl+W: Close a workbook Ctrl+F4: Close Excel F4: Repeat the last command or action. For example, if the last thing you typed in a cell is “hello,” or if you change the font color, clicking another cell and pressing F4 repeats that action in the new cell. Shift+F11: Insert a new worksheet Ctrl+Z: Undo an action Ctrl+Y: Redo an action Ctrl+F2: Switch to Print Preview F1: Open the Help pane Alt+Q: Go to the “Tell me what you want to do” box F7: Check spelling F9: Calculate all worksheets in all open workbooks Shift+F9: Calculate active worksheets Alt or F10: Turn key tips on or off Ctrl+F1: Show or hide the ribbon Ctrl+Shift+U: Expand or collapse the formula bar Ctrl+F9: Minimize the workbook window F11: Create a bar chart based on selected data (on a separate sheet) Alt+F1: Create an embedded bar chart based on select data (same sheet) Ctrl+F: Search in a spreadsheet, or use Find and Replace Alt+F: Open the File tab menu Alt+H: Go to the Home tab Alt+N: Open the Insert tab Alt+P: Go to the Page Layout tab Alt+M: Go to the Formulas tab Alt+A: Go to the Data tab Alt+R: Go to the Review tab Alt+W: Go to the View tab Alt+X: Go to the Add-ins tab Alt+Y: Go to the Help tab Ctrl+Tab: Switch between open workbooks Shift+F3: Insert a function Alt+F8: Create, run, edit, or delete a macro Alt+F11: Open the Microsoft Visual Basic For Applications Editor

Moving Around in a Worksheet or Cell

You can use keyboard shortcuts to easily navigate throughout your worksheet, within a cell, or throughout your entire workbook.

Left/Right Arrow: Move one cell to the left or right Ctrl+Left/Right Arrow: Move to the farthest cell left or right in the row Up/Down Arrow: Move one cell up or down Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow: Move to the top or bottom cell in the column Tab: Go to the next cell Shift+Tab: Go to the previous cell Ctrl+End: Go to the most bottom right used cell F5: Go to any cell by pressing F5 and typing the cell coordinate or cell name. Home: Go to the leftmost cell in the current row (or go to the beginning of the cell if editing a cell) Ctrl+Home: Move to the beginning of a worksheet Page Up/Down: Move one screen up or down in a worksheet Alt+Page Up/Down: Move one screen to the right or left in a worksheet Ctrl+Page Up/Down: Move to the previous or next worksheet

Selecting Cells

You may have noticed from the previous section you use the arrow keys to move between cells, and the Ctrl key to modify that movement. Using the Shift key to modify the arrow keys lets you extend your selected cells. There are also a few other combos for speeding up selection, as well.

Shift+Left/Right Arrow: Extend the cell selection to the left or right Shift+Space: Select the entire row Ctrl+Space: Select the entire column Ctrl+Shift+Space: Select the entire worksheet

Editing Cells

Excel also provides some keyboard shortcuts for editing cells.

F2: Edit a cell Shift+F2: Add or edit a cell comment Ctrl+X: Cut contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert: Copy contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert: Paste contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Ctrl+Alt+V: Open the Paste Special dialog box Delete: Remove the contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Alt+Enter: Insert a hard return within a cell (while editing a cell) F3: Paste a cell name (if cells are named in the worksheet) Alt+H+D+C: Delete column Esc: Cancel an entry in a cell or the formula bar Enter: Complete an entry in a cell or the formula bar

Formatting Cells

Ready to format some cells? These keyboard shortcuts make it easier!

Ctrl+B: Add or remove bold to the contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Ctrl+I: Add or remove italics to the contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Ctrl+U: Add or remove underline to the contents of a cell, selected data, or selected cell range Alt+H+H: Select a fill color Alt+H+B: Add a border Ctrl+Shift+&: Apply outline border Ctrl+Shift+_ (Underline): Remove outline border Ctrl+9: Hide the selected rows Ctrl+0: Hide the selected columns Ctrl+1: Open the Format Cells dialog box Ctrl+5: Apply or remove strikethrough Ctrl+Shift+$: Apply currency format Ctrl+Shift+%: Apply percent format

The more you use keyboard shortcuts, the easier they are to remember. And no one expects you to memorize all of them. Hopefully, you’ve found a few new ones you can use to make your life in Excel a little better.

Need more help with keyboard shortcuts? You can access Help anytime by pressing F1. This opens a Help pane and allows you to search for help on any topic. Search for “keyboard shortcuts” to learn more.