If you’re serious about using Microsoft Excel, then you should get to know all of its keyboard shortcuts. Here’s a list of the most useful Excel shortcuts and how they can help you work faster. For example, did you know that you can use Excel shortcut keys to calculate all open workbooks? Learn about more keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel and discover how to become a more efficient user.

excel shortcuts

Using Microsoft Excel shortcuts, you can quickly navigate through datasheets, use formulas for calculation, and many more without needing to use your mouse.

We will have a look at some of the best Excel shortcuts for Mac and Windows to help you level up your working experience in Microsoft Excel.

1. Frequently Used Excel Shortcuts

First, let us have a look at the most frequently used Microsoft Excel shortcut keys. The following table contains Excel shortcuts you might use daily to maintain records, perform calculations, and more.

Action Shortcut
Copy

Ctrl + C

 Command + C
Paste

Ctrl + V

Command + V
Undo Ctrl + Z
 Command + Z
Clear Delete
 Delete

Save

Ctrl + S

Command + S
Redo

Ctrl + Y

Command + Y

Cut

 Ctrl + X
 Command + X
Bold Ctrl + B
 Command + B

Print

 Ctrl + P
 Command + P

Find and replace cell contents

 Ctrl + H
 Command + H

Insert a hyperlink in a cell

 Ctrl + K
 Command + K

Format the cell contents

 Ctrl + 1
 Command + 1

Hide a Row

 Ctrl + 9
 Command + 9

Hide a Column

 Ctrl + 0
 Command + 0

Close your current workbook

 Ctrl + W
 Command + W

Fill Down

 Ctrl + D
 Command + D
Fill Right

Alt + G + H

 Command + R

Insert cells

 Shift + F2 Control + Shift + =

Delete cells

Delete

 Command + Hyphen

Calculate all open workbooks

F9

F9

Close window

 Ctrl + Esc
 Command + W

Quit Excel

Alt + F4

 Command + Q

Display the Go To dialog

F5

F5

Display the Format Cells dialog

 Ctrl + 1
 Command + 1

Open the Paste Special dialog

 Ctrl + Alt + V Command + Option + V
Underline

Ctrl+U

 Command + U

Italic

Ctrl+I

Command + I

New blank workbook

 Ctrl + O
 Command + O

Display the Save As dialog

F12

 F12

Select All

Ctrl + A

Command + A

Apply or remove strikethrough formatting

 Ctrl+5 Command + 5

Extend the cell selection to the left or right

 Shift + Left/Right arrow Shift + Left/Right arrow

Select the entire row

 Shift + Space Shift + Space

Select the entire column

 Ctrl + Space Cmd + Space

Select the entire worksheet

 Ctrl + Shift + Space Cmd + Shift + Space

2. Microsoft Excel Shortcuts to Enter Data Into Sheets

Data entry is one of the most important aspects of Microsoft Excel. But what if we tell you that you can double your data entry speed in Excel? Sound efficient, right?

Entering data into a cell is the most common action in Excel. But, typing out the entire address of a cell over and over again can be tedious and time-consuming. It is not that difficult to learn some basic Microsoft Excel shortcuts that will help you work more efficiently with your sheets.

This table displays all the data entry Excel shortcuts to help you enter data quickly into sheets.

Action Shortcut
Edit the selected cell

F2

 F2
Add or edit a cell comment

Shift + F2

 Shift + F2
Paste a Cell name

F3

 F3
Complete a cell entry and move forward in the selection

Enter

Return
Start a new line in the same cell Alt + Enter
 Option + Return
Complete a cell entry and move up in the selection Shift + Enter
 Shift + Return

Complete a cell entry and move to the right in the selection

Tab key

Tab key
Complete a cell entry and move to the left in the selection Shift + Tab

Shift + Tab

Cancel a cell entry

 Esc
 Esc
Delete the character to the left Backspace
 Delete

Delete the character to the right

 N/A FN + Delete

Move one character

 Arrow keys
 Arrow keys

Move to the beginning of the line

 Home
 Home
Move to the last cell in use on the sheet Ctrl + End Command + End

Move down one screen

 Page down Page down
Enter the current time

Ctrl + Shift + colon (:)

 Control + option + colon (:)

Enter the current date

Ctrl + semi-colon (;)

Control + semi-colon (;)

Move the selected cells

 Ctrl + X Command + X

Copy the selected cells

Ctrl + C

 Command + C

Insert a hyperlink

Ctrl + K

Command + K

Calculate the active sheet

 Shift+ F9 Shift + F9

Start a formula

 Equal (=) Equal (=)
Insert the AutoSum formula

Alt + =

 Command + Shift + T

Insert a function

Shift + F3

Shift + F3

Open the Smart Lookup pane

 N/A
 Control + Option + Command + L

Define a name

Alt + M

 Control + L
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3. Function Key Excel Shortcuts

Function keys are a series of keys on your keyboard that perform specific operations when pressed together with other keys. They are F1, F2, F3, up to F12 in most cases. Function key Excel shortcut keys can be very useful as they will save you a lot of time and effort in MS Excel.

Let’s get started with some of the most used function key shortcuts in MS Excel.

Action Shortcut
Display the Help window

F1

 F1
Edit the selected cell

F2

F2
Insert a note Shift + F2 Shift+F2
Insert a threaded comment Ctrl + Shift + F2 Command + Shift + F2

Open the Save dialog

F12

Option + F2
Open the Formula Builder Shift + F3

Shift + F3

Open the Define Name dialog

 Ctrl + F3
 Command + F3
Close Ctrl + F4 Command + F4

Display the Go To dialog

 F5 F5

Display the Find dialog

 N/A
 Shift + F5

Move to the search sheet dialog

 Ctrl + F5 Control + F5
Check a spelling F7 F7

Open the thesaurus

 Shift + F7 Shift + F7
Extend the selection F8 F8

Display the Macro dialog

Alt + F8

Option + F8

Minimize the active window

 Ctrl + F9
 Control + F9

Insert a new chart sheet

F11

 F11

4. Office Add-Ins Task Pane Excel Shortcuts

Office add-ins are a great way to extend your Office experience beyond the standard menu bar commands. The following shortcut keys can be used when working in an Office add-in task pane. This table includes Excel shortcut keys for some commands that are not available in all task panes.

Action Shortcut
Open the context menu

Ctrl + Shift + F10

 Control + Shift + F10
Open the task pane options menu Ctrl + Space bar

Control + Space bar
Close the task pane

Ctrl + Space bar

and select close

Control + Space bar

and select close

Related Read: How to Recover Unsaved Excel Files

Excel in Your Career With These Microsoft Excel Hotkeys

Using these Microsoft Excel hotkeys, you can perform various actions in Excel, be it data entry or performing long calculations, quickly and effortlessly.

Let us know in the comments below if you found these Excel shortcuts helpful and if you will start using them the next time you are working in Microsoft Excel.

If you also use Word, knowing the best Word keyboard shortcuts can also come in handy and speed up your operations on the platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most of the keyboard shortcuts we mentioned should work just fine on Microsoft Excel 2007, barring a few new keyboard shortcuts.

If you still face issues with shortcuts, we recommend upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft Excel as you get access to brand new features and fixes.

Definitely yes, Microsoft PowerPoint is yet another popular Office app from the tech giant. We have already covered a list of some of the best Microsoft PowerPoint Shortcut Keys that you can check out to familiarize yourself.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Microsoft Excel Shortcut keys available. So, if you are looking for something like an Excel shortcuts cheat sheet, there is no better place than the official Microsoft support page. But remember something: While it sounds nice to know every single Excel shortcut key out there, it simply doesn't help you be more productive.

This is precisely why we have curated some of the best, most used, and most popular Microsoft Excel shortcuts in this article.

 

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