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Home Excel Excel Resources Excel Tips Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
 

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Madhuri Thakur
Article byMadhuri Thakur

Updated November 20, 2023

What is Excel Keyboard Shortcuts?

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts are operative alternatives where users can use keyboard key combinations to accomplish tasks usually performed with a click of the mouse.

Keyboard shortcuts can simplify and quicken the process of simple functions, like saving a document to performing calculations across multiple workbooks without using the mouse.

 

 

For example, when we use the shortcut keys CTRL + B for cell A1, it makes the content Bold, as displayed in cell C1.

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Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Tip: To make content BOLD, we can also press the B icon in the Excel ribbon (highlighted in yellow in the above image)

These shortcuts help save time while working with large data files in business accounting, equity research, or building financial models. They increase efficiency and speed, ultimately leading to increased productivity.

Key Highlights

  • The ALT key on the keyboard is the master key, which is present on both sides of the Spacebar key.
  • Keyboard shortcuts are essential alternatives to the mouse.
  • We can use the keyboard shortcuts in Excel using ALT, CTRL, SHIFT, Function key, and Windows key.
  • The shortcut keys for the Windows keyboard and Mac keyboard are different.

How to Find Excel Keyboard Shortcuts?

To find the keyboard shortcuts press the ALT key on the keyboard. The Excel ribbon displays the below shortcuts for the menus in the toolbar.

excel keyboard shortcuts-ALT

When we press ALT + H, Microsoft Excel displays the keyboard shortcuts for every function in the toolbar except the menus, as shown below.

excel keyboard shortcuts-ALT + H

How to Use Excel Keyboard Shortcuts?

The various shortcuts for the Windows keyboard are given below:

1. CTRL + Letters Shortcuts

Shortcut Key

Action

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - CTRL + A Select All
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - CTRL+B Bold
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - CTRL+C Copy
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - CTRL+D Fill Down
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - CTRL+F Find
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+G Go to
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+H Replace
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+I Italic
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+K Insert Hyperlink
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl + L Displays the Create Table dialog box
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+N New Workbook
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+O Open
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+P Print
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+R Fill Right
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+S Save
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+U Underline
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+V Paste
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+W Close
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+X Cut
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+Y Repeat the last worksheet action
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+Z Undo

2. CTRL + Numbers Shortcuts

Shortcut Key

Action
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+0 Hide columns
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+1 Format Cells dialog box
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+2 Bold
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+3 Italic
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+4 Underline
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+5 Strikethrough
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+6 Show or Hide objects
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+7 Show or Hide Standard toolbar
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+8 Toggle Outline symbols
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl+9 Hide rows
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl + Shift + 0 It Unhides the columns in the current selection
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl + Shift + 2 It Enters the value from the cell directly above into the active cell
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl + Shift + 8 It Selects the current region (associated with blank rows and columns)
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - Ctrl + Shift + 9 It will Unhide the rows in the current selection

3. Function Keys Shortcut

Shortcut Key Action
excel keyboard shortcuts-F1 Shortcut Microsoft Excel Help
excel keyboard shortcuts-F2 Shortcut Edit
excel keyboard shortcuts-F3 shortcut Paste Name
excel keyboard shortcuts-F4 SHORTCUT
  1. Repeat the last worksheet action
  2. Switch between relative and absolute refs
excel keyboard shortcuts-F5 SHORTCUT Go To
excel keyboard shortcuts-F6 SHORTCUT Next Pane
excel keyboard shortcuts-F7 SHORTCUT Spell check
excel keyboard shortcuts-F8 SHORTCUT Extend mode
excel keyboard shortcuts-F9 SHORTCUT To recalculate all workbooks
excel keyboard shortcuts-F10 SHORTCUT Activate Menu Bar
excel keyboard shortcuts-F11 New Chart
excel keyboard shortcuts-F12 SHORTCUT Save As

4. CTRL + Function Keys Shortcut

Shortcut Key Action
ctrl+f1 Expand or collapse the Ribbon
Ctrl + F2 Display the Print Preview area on the Print tab of Backstage View
Ctrl + F3 Display the Name Manager dialog box
Ctrl + F4 Close the currently selected workbook window
Ctrl + F6 Alternate between the currently active workbook window and the next workbook window
Ctrl + F7 Apply the Move command on the active workbook window
Ctrl + F8 Apply Resize command on the active workbook window
Ctrl + F9 Minimize the currently selected workbook window
Ctrl + F10 Maximize or restore the currently selected workbook window
Ctrl + F11 New Macro sheet
Ctrl + F12 Display the Open dialog box

5. SHIFT + Function Keys Shortcut

Shortcut Key Action
ShiFt+F2 Edit cell comment
ShiFt+F3 Displays formula box to Paste function into the formula
ShiFt+F4 Find Next
ShiFt+F5 Find
ShiFt+F6 Moves to the Previous Pane in a workbook
ShiFt+F8 Add to selection
ShiFt+F9 Calculate active worksheet
ShiFt+F10 Display shortcut menu
ShiFt+F11 Insert New worksheet
ShiFt+F12 Save

6. ALT + Function Keys Shortcut

Shortcut Key Action
Alt+F1 Insert Chart (Creates a chart of the data in the current range)
Alt+F2 Save As
Alt+F4 Closes all workbooks & Exits Excel
Alt+F8 Macro dialog box
Alt+F11 Displays Visual Basic Editor

 7. ALT + SHIFT + Function Keys Shortcut

Shortcut Key Action
alt+shft+1 Inserts a new worksheet into the active workbook
Alt+Shft+F2 Displays the Save As dialog box
Alt+Shft+F4 Closes all the workbooks and exits Excel
Alt+Shft+F10 Displays the drop-down menu for the corresponding smart tag
Alt+Shft+F11 Displays the drop-down menu for the corresponding smart tag

8. ALT + Letter Keys Shortcut

Shortcut Key Action
Alt + A + E Convert Text to Columns Wizard
Alt + A + H Hide grouped columns or rows
Alt + A + J Show grouped columns or rows
Alt + A + M Displays the Remove Duplicates dialog box
Alt + A + Q Advanced Filter
Alt + A + SA Sort smallest to largest
Alt + A + SD Sort largest to smallest
Alt + A + SS Displays the Sort dialog box
Alt + B Add or Remove the bottom border
Alt + D Add or Remove the downward diagonal border
Alt + F Go to Backstage View
Alt + H Add or Remove the horizontal interior border
Alt + H + AB Align text to the bottom of the cell
Alt + H + AC Align text to the center of the cell
Alt + H + AL Align text to the left of the cell
Alt + H + AM Align text to the middle of the cell
Alt + H + AN Choose accounting format
Alt + H + AR Align text to the right of the cell
Alt + H + AT Align text to the top of the cell
Alt + H + B Expand Borders drop-down menu
Alt + H + FC Choose font color
Alt + H + FC Expand Font Color drop-down menu
Alt + H + FF Change the font face
Alt + H + FG Increase the font size by 1 point
Alt + H + FK Decrease the font size by 1 point
Alt + H + FM Format Cells dialog box with the Number tab selected
Alt + H + FN Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected
Alt + H + FO Clipboard task pane
Alt + H + FP Activates Format Painter
Alt + H + FS Change the font size
Alt + H + H Expand the Fill Color drop-down menu
Alt + H + J Expand the Cell Styles menu
Alt + H + K Format number with a thousand’s comma (,) separator
Alt + H + N Choose number format
Alt + H + T Expand Format as Table drop-down menu
Alt + H + T Expand the Format as Table menu
Alt + H + W Wrap text
Alt + JA Go to the Layout tab of the Ribbon
Alt + JC Go to the Design tab of the Ribbon
Alt + JC + A Expand Add Chart Element drop-down menu
Alt + L Add/ Remove the left border
Alt + L + I Expand the Insert Form Controls and ActiveX Controls drop-down menu
Alt + M + D Trace Dependents
Alt + M + P Trace Precedents
Alt + N + B Insert Bar Chart
Alt + N + C Insert Column Chart
Alt + N + N Insert Line Chart
Alt + N + Q Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart
Alt + N + R Recommended Charts
Alt + N + SD Insert Combo Chart
Alt + N + V Pivot Table
Alt + N + X Insert Text Box
Alt + R Add or Remove the right border
Alt + R + A Show all comments
Alt + R + D Delete comment
Alt + T Add or Remove the top border
Alt + T + O Display Excel Options dialog box
Alt + V Add or Remove the vertical interior border
Alt + W + I Page Break Preview
Alt + W + L Normal View
Alt + W + Q Zoom dialog box
Alt + W + VG View or hide gridlines

What are the most Common Excel Keyboard Shortcuts?

CTRL+ Home Move to the beginning of a worksheet
CTRL+ Pgdn Move to the next sheet in a workbook
CTRL+ Pgup Move to the previous sheet in a workbook
ALT + Pgdn Move one screen to the right in a worksheet
ALT + Pgup Move one screen to the left in a worksheet
CTRL + Arrow Move to the edge of the current data region in a worksheet

Things to Remember

  • Excel Keyboard Shortcuts help provide a quicker method to direct and finish commands.
  • Excel Keyboard Shortcuts also help out or reduce the usage of the mouse and the number of clicks.
  • The ALT key on the keyboard helps to use the shortcut key for various tasks.
  • A good Excel course can also be beneficial in enhancing your Excel shortcut skills.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is the F1 shortcut key in Excel?

Answer: The F1 key is a function key in Excel that displays the Help task pane. If we press CTRL + F1, it displays/ hides the Excel ribbon. Excel creates an embedded chart if we press ALT + F1 for a selected data/ range.

Q2. What are the 7 special keys on the keyboard?

Answer: The 7 special keys are-

CTRL + O: To open a document
CTRL + N: To create a New document
CTRL + S: To save a document
CTRL + C: To copy data from a cell or range of cells
CTRL + V: To paste a data
CTRL + X: To cut data from a cell or range of cells
CTRL + Z: To undo a task

Q3. How do I get a list of shortcuts in Excel?

Answer: To get a list of shortcuts in Excel, press the ALT key. The ALT key will display all the ribbon shortcuts, which are also called Key Tips. These tips appear as small letters next to the function they represent.

Q4. What is F7 used for in Excel?

Answer: The function key F7 displays the Spelling dialog box, which checks the spelling of the active Excel worksheet or a selected cell range. If we press CTRL + F7, it performs the Move command on the Excel workbook window.

Q5. What is F4 in Excel?

Answer: The function key F4 repeats the last action or command. It is helpful when performing multiple tasks and not remembering the last action. It helps save time too.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Excel Keyboard Shortcuts. EDUCBA recommends learning more about Excel from the following articles

  1. Excel Shortcut For Merge Cells
  2. Excel Filter Shortcuts
  3. Excel Insert Row Shortcut
  4. VBA Insert Row

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