Excel Keyboard Shortcuts (Table of Contents)
Introduction to Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts allow you to do things with your keyboard instead of using your mouse to increase your speed & to save time. ALT key on the keyboard is the master key, which is present on both side of your Spacebar key, helps to use shortcut key for various task. It helps out or reduces the usage of the mouse & and its number of clicks. Keyboard shortcuts are an essential alternative for the mouse.
Shortcut keys in Microsoft Excel help you to provide an easier and usually quicker method of directing and finishing commands. In Excel Keyboard shortcuts are commonly accessed by using ALT, Ctrl, Shift, Function key and Windows key.
When you press the Alt key, you can observe below mentioned Ribbon tab showing shortcuts keys to press e.g. H in Home tab.
If you press, ALT+H, it is further categorized, Excel will display icons, where you can see the shortcut keys for various groups appearing under ribbon tab.
Let’s check out how Excel Keyboard Shortcuts works, it is categorized based on the usage of Alt, Ctrl, Shift & Function key.
How to Use Excel Keyboard Shortcuts?
There are multiple Excel Keyboard Shortcuts. Let us understand the uses and working of keyboard shortcuts.
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1. Function Keys Shortcut
| Shortcut Key | Action |
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Microsoft Excel Help |
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Edit |
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Paste Name |
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Repeat last worksheet action |
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It is also used to switch between absolute/relative refs |
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Goto |
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Next Pane |
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Spell check |
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Extend mode |
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Recalculate all workbooks |
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Activate Menubar |
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New Chart |
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Save As |
2. CTRL + Letters Shortcuts
Shortcut Key |
Action |
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Select All |
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Bold |
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Copy |
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Fill Down |
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Find |
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Go to |
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Replace |
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Italic |
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Insert Hyperlink |
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Displays the Create Table dialog box |
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New Workbook |
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Open |
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|
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Fill Right |
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Save |
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Underline |
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Paste |
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Close |
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Cut |
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Repeat the last worksheet action |
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Undo |
3. CTRL + Numbers Shortcuts
|
Shortcut Key |
Action |
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Hide columns |
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Format Cells dialog box |
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Bold |
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Italic |
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Underline |
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Strikethrough |
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Show or Hide objects |
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Show or Hide Standard toolbar |
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Toggle Outline symbols |
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Hide rows |
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It Unhides the columns in the current selection |
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It Enters the value from the cell directly above into the active cell |
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It Selects the current region (associated by blank rows and columns) |
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It will Unhide the rows in the current selection |
4. CTRL + Function Keys Shortcut
| Shortcut Key | Action |
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Expand or collapse the Ribbon |
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Display Print Preview area on Print tab of Backstage View |
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Display the Name Manager dialog box |
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Close current selected workbook window |
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Alternate between current active workbook window and next workbook window |
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Apply Move command on the active workbook window |
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Apply Resize command on the active workbook window |
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Minimize currently selected workbook window |
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Maximize or restore currently selected workbook window |
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New Macro sheet |
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Display the Open dialog box |
5. SHIFT + Function Keys Shortcut
| Shortcut Key | Action |
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Edit cell comment |
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Displays formula box to Paste function into the formula |
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Find Next |
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Find |
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Moves to the Previous Pane in a workbook |
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Add to selection |
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Calculate active worksheet |
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Display shortcut menu |
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Insert New worksheet |
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Save |
6. ALT + Function Keys Shortcut
| Shortcut Key | Action |
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Insert Chart (It Creates a chart of the data in the current range) |
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Save As |
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Closes all workbook & Exits excel |
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Macro dialog box |
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Displays Visual Basic Editor |
7. ALT + SHIFT + Function Keys Shortcut
| Shortcut Key | Action | |
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Inserts a new worksheet into the active workbook | |
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Displays the Save As dialog box | |
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Closes all the workbooks and exits Excel | |
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It Displays the drop-down menu for corresponding smart tag | |
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It Activates the Microsoft Script Editor window |
8. ALT + Letter Keys Shortcut
| Shortcut Key | Action |
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Convert Text to Columns Wizard |
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Hide grouped columns or rows |
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Show grouped columns or rows |
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Displays the Remove Duplicates dialog box |
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Advanced Filter |
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Sort smallest to largest |
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Sort largest to smallest |
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Displays the Sort dialog box |
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Add or Remove the bottom border |
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Add or Remove downward diagonal border |
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Go to Backstage View |
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Add or Remove horizontal interior border |
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Align text to the bottom of the cell |
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Align text to the center of the cell |
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Align text to the left of the cell |
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Align text to the middle of the cell |
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Choose accounting format |
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Align text to the right of the cell |
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Align text to the top of the cell |
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Expand Borders drop-down menu |
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Choose font color |
|
Expand Font Color drop-down menu |
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Change the font face |
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Increase the font size by 1 point |
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Decrease the font size by 1 point |
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Format Cells dialog box with the Number tab selected |
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Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected |
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Clipboard task pane |
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Activates Format Painter |
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Change the font size |
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Expand Fill Color drop-down menu |
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Expand the Cell Styles menu |
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Format number with a thousand’s comma (,) separator |
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Choose number format |
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Expand Format as Table drop-down menu |
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Expand the Format as Table menu |
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Wrap text |
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Go to Layout tab of the Ribbon |
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Go to Design tab of the Ribbon |
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Expand Add Chart Element drop-down menu |
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Add or Remove left border |
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Expand the Insert Form Controls and ActiveX Controls drop-down menu |
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Trace Dependents |
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Trace Precedents |
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Insert Bar Chart |
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Insert Column Chart |
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Insert Line Chart |
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Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart |
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Recommended Charts |
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Insert Combo Chart |
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Pivot Table |
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Insert Text Box |
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Add or Remove right border |
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Show all comments |
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Delete comment |
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Add or Remove top border |
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Display Excel Options dialog box |
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Add or Remove vertical interior border |
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Page Break Preview |
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Normal View |
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Zoom dialog box |
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View or hide gridlines |
Things to Remember About Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
- Excel Keyboard Shortcuts helps you to provide an easier and usually quicker method of directing and finishing commands.
- Excel Keyboard Shortcuts also helps out or reduces the usage of the mouse & and its number of clicks.
- Apart from these, the most commonly used shortcut keys are –
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Move to the beginning of a worksheet. |
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Move to the next sheet in a workbook. |
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Move to the previous sheet in a workbook |
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Move one screen to the right in a worksheet. |
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Move one screen to the left in a worksheet. |
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Move to the edge of the current data region in a worksheet. |
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to Excel Keyboard Shortcuts. Here we discuss the working of Excel Keyboard Shortcuts, how to access them and how to use Excel Keyboard Shortcuts to save your time. You may also learn more on Excel from the following articles –
