Microsoft Excel Shortcuts – Since its release in 1985, Microsoft Excel Shortcuts has been a helpful tool for collating and analyzing information quickly and effectively. Excel spreadsheet is one of the most widely used computer application which helps in organizing, storing and analyzing data in tabular form which is easily evaluated.
Though the charts, formulas and other tools help in manipulating, analyzing and managing all the important data, it can be overwhelming to use the spreadsheets without MS excel shortcuts. Fortunately for Excel users, every menu and operation in the application can be controlled from the keyboard with proper excel shortcuts. The list of Excel shortcuts tricks which is more than 225 can itself be overwhelming to learn and use effectively, but once mastered, the result would be a highly effective and efficient output in shorter time period.
Those who are familiar with old excel shortcuts tricks for excel should notice that some of the old excel shortcuts do not work in Microsoft Excel 2013. Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V still do the copy and paste job, but some of the old menu keys do not work anymore. When the old shortcut is clicked, a box pops up informing that the access key is from earlier Microsoft Office.
One more useful tool, though not included in excel shortcuts would be hovering the pointer tool above the buttons to know their functions.
With experience, the excel shortcuts and tricks will be memorized by people who regularly use excel, but initially it is important to know few basic excel shortcuts on keyboard that would save time and energy for users.
The top 20 MS excel shortcuts key used for Microsoft Excel by individuals and businesses alike are:
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- Home
- Ctrl + Page Down & UP
- Ctrl +Arrow Keys
- Ctrl + *
- Ctrl+5
- Shift + F10
- Ctrl + shift + [desired function key]
- Ctrl + F1
- F2
- F4 or Ctrl + Y
- F6
- F12
- Ctrl + Enter
- Ctrl + Alt + V
- Shift + Spacebar
- Alt
- End
- Enter
- Esc
- F1
Microsoft Excel Shortcuts Key
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Home
When working on the excel spreadsheet, the Home button on the keyboard conveniently takes the user back to the beginning of a row with just a click. If the scroll lock is turned on, clicking the ‘Home’ button takes the user to the cell in the upper-left corner of the window. If a menu or sub menu is open, the home button selects the first command on the visible menu.
Users can move to the beginning of a worksheet by combining Ctrl + Home buttons. When working in a cell, using the Home/End buttons allows users to conveniently move to the beginning and the end of a cell data.
To extend the selection to the starting point in a row, combine Shift + Home and to extend the selection to the beginning of the worksheet, click Ctrl + Shift + Home buttons.
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Ctrl + Page Down & UP
Ctrl + Page Down or Ctrl + Page Up button helps in quickly surfing through worksheets in excel. Instead of crawling through the lines, users can jump from one worksheet to another with ease through this keyboard shortcut. Ctrl + Page Up moves to the previous worksheet whereas the Ctrl + Page down moves to the next. If the user has about 8 worksheets and is working on 7th but wants to check the some data on 3rd, then all he is has to do is hold down the Ctrl button and press page up 4 times.
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Ctrl +Arrow Keys
The arrow keys are useful in moving one cell up, down, left, or right in a excel worksheet. With the help of shortcut Ctrl + Arrow keys the user can easily move to the edge of next data region, but only if there are no blank cells on the worksheet. This helps to scroll through pages faster. Pressing Ctrl + Down Arrow key will take the user to the last row on the worksheet whereas clicking Ctrl + Up Arrow key will take the user to the first row in the worksheet. The same applies for right and left arrow keys.
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Ctrl + *
When the user desires to either copy or delete the current region around the actively working cell, the shortcut Ctrl + * (asterisk) helps in selecting the current active range in the cell with the entire data area that is enclosed by blank rows and blank columns.
The shortcut covers the data set in all directions from the current active space up to the end of the worksheet or a blank row or column. When working on a PivotTable in excel worksheet, the shortcut helps in selection of the entire PivotTable Data. The asterisk key is available on the numeric keyboard for independent selection.
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Ctrl+5
For those who like to finish the task on the list and strike it off, the shortcut Ctrl + 5 will do the job effectively.
Striking a task off the ‘To Do List’ will make it clear to the user what has been accomplished and what is left to do. If all the task in the cell has been completed, the entire cell can be selected and strike through by pressing Ctrl + 5 shortcut.
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Shift + F10
The shift + F10 shortcut functions like the right-click on the mouse, opening up the menu for use. It is agreed that moving hand to the mouse when working on keyboard can be annoyance, hence having this option on the keyboard is a blessing. Further, users can use the arrow keys to move through the menu and press enter to select the desired option. To check the fly-out menus the right arrow can be used.
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Ctrl + shift + [desired function key]
The control + shift buttons helps in inserting various functions in the worksheet with ease. To insert current time, click Ctrl + Shift + ; Users can format date and time on their worksheet by inserting desired function key along with Ctrl + Shift buttons.
The Ctrl + Shift + = will open the insert cells options. Ctrl + Shift + W will wrap the text. Ctrl + Shift + 7 will select the border or outline of the worksheet. Ctrl + Shift + # will apply date format with the day, month and year. The new Ctrl + Shift shortcuts with various helpful combinations makes the task of managing the Excel worksheet much easier.
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Ctrl + F1
When working on the worksheet, at times the ribbon can be distracting or encroaching on the work space. The problem can be handled deftly by pressing the Ctrl + F1 shortcut which hides the ribbon. Pressing the shortcut again will make the ribbon visible once again.
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F2
To edit the current working cell just click on F2 button on the keyboard. User can not only edit the active cell, but can also efficiently position the insertion point at the end of the cell contents with ease using this shortcut.
Clicking on F2 button helps in moving the insertion point into the Formula Bar when editing in a cell is turned off. To display the print preview area on the Print tab in the background, combine Ctrl and F2 keys.
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F4 or Ctrl + Y
When the user has to repeat a complicated command previously applied to the Excel Worksheet, pressing the F4 key will do the job. The shortcut repeats the last command except some cases where the action cannot be repeated through the shortcut. The shortcut F4 will also deftly cycle through all the combinations of locked and unlocked locations or data when a formula in a cell is being edited.
For example – if the last function was to strike through a column on to do list with shortcut key Ctrl + 5, the action can be repeated with by pressing F4 key with ease. When working on excel worksheet it is very convenient to have a shortcut to repeat last formatting action for complicated lengthy functions with just a click of a button which saves time.
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F6
When working with Microsoft Excel, users often have to switch between the current worksheet, task pane, zoom-in and zoom-out controls and ribbon for selecting various functions. Reaching out for the mouse for selection can be tedious task, but fortunately the shortcut key F6 comes to the rescue here. When the user has split the worksheet into more than one pane, the shortcut will include the split panes when switching between different areas.
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F12
Nothing can be more frustrating than the hard work lost when the user fails to save the file, especially if it is data entered on Spreadsheet. The right thing to do is use the shortcut F12 which brings up the save as option for the file. It saves the user lot of unnecessary functions which leads to the save option.
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Ctrl + Enter
Another useful excel shortcuts include the combination of Ctrl + Enter key which fills the selected cell range with contents of current entry. By using the shortcut the contents of an edited cell can be automatically exported to other selected cells.
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Ctrl + Alt + V
It is easy to remember this particular shortcut since everyone is quite familiar with the Ctrl + V option which is regularly used to insert the copied content of the clipboard at the desired point. For some of the complicated data used in Excel worksheet, users may have to use Paste Special option. The shortcut Ctrl + Alt + V opens the Paste Special dialog box for pasting the cut or copied object, text, or cell contents on a spreadsheet. The copied content can be pasted in another program as well.
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Shift + Spacebar
Since every row in the Excel spreadsheet has an individual function, users may be required to select an entire row for a function. Using the shortcut Shift + Space makes the task easy. Once selected, changes can be applied to the whole row.
To select column use the shortcut Ctrl + Spacebar
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Alt
There is no argument that keyboard shortcuts are very useful while working on excel spreadsheet. How about having a shortcut that opens up a menu of excel shortcuts on the ribbon? Alt button is the key that displays the Key Tips or new shortcuts on the ribbon of Microsoft Excel. For example, when you click on the Alt button, the options for new shortcuts on the ribbon open up – H for home, P for Page Layout and M for Formula. When you further press Alt + M the formula function opens up.
Alt key is also combined with various keys for creating different shortcuts, the most popular being Alt + F4 to close an open file.
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End
The End button when used with Excel worksheet turns the End Mode on or off. This can be viewed in the bottom corner of the spreadsheet.
When the end mode is on, user can press the arrow keys to move to next blank cell in the column or row as required. Once the arrow key has been used to access the blank cell, the end mode turns off. The End button has to be clicked once again to activate it for further use. If the spreadsheet has only blank cells then the shortcut moves to the last cell in the column or row.
The End button is also used to select the last command on the menu when a menu or submenu is visible.
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Enter
When the entry in the cell or the Formula Bar is completed, user can select the Enter shortcut to complete the entry and move on to the next cell.
For example when the date is entered in the column, by pressing enter key the Data entry for Rental Company can be accessed for editing.
When the spreadsheet is in the data format, the shortcut moves to the first field in the next record. It can be combined with different keys for accessing different excel shortcuts. For example, using the Alt + Enter shortcut will create a new line in the same cell.
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Esc
No matter how experienced you are, there are sticky places you get on the Excel worksheet from which the escape route will be through shortcut button Esc. The shortcut is also used to cancel undesired, completed or wrong entry in a cell or formula bar. If there are menus, submenus, message windows or dialog boxes open, the shortcut will close them.
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F1
Finally, if the user is still at loss and needs some help, F1 is the right shortcut for call out for help.
It opens the Excel help task pane which has a search box where the user can seek help either offline or online.
The list should help novice Excel users to get familiar with excel shortcuts, which will help them achieve the task quickly and easily.
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