Day to Day Shortcuts for Excel

by | Sep 20, 2013 | Excel Top Tips! | 0 comments

Day to Day Shortcuts for Excel . I have compiled a list of shortcuts that I use regularly on a day to day basis.

These handy shortcuts should have you navigating and formatting your worksheets in no time at all. They require a bit of practice, but it’s definitely worth it.

Highlighting Shortcuts

Shortcut Key Combinations Description
Control + A This will highlight the current region/table.
Control + A (x2) This will highlight the entire sheet.
Control + Shift + Down Arrow key This will highlight a column within a table, starting from the top of the column.Note: watch out for blank cells, simply press the arrow again
Control + Shift + Right Arrow key This will highlight a row within a table, starting on the far left of the row.Note: watch out for blank cells, simply press the arrow key again
Control + Shift + Right Arrow Key and
Control + Shift + Down Arrow Key
Combining these keys will highlight a large range of cells/table quickly.
Control key used in conjunction with the mouse This will allow you to highlight non-adjacent cells within your worksheet.
Shift Key used in conjunction with the mouse This will select a cell range

Navigation Shortcuts

Shortcut Key Combinations Description
Control + G or Press F5 Go ToThis will take you another cell on the worksheet
Control + Page Up
Control + Page Down
Switches between worksheet tabs
Navigation buttons use the Right Mouse Click

Navigation buttons bottom right of the screen.Right mouse clicking on these buttons will display a list of worksheets in the workbook; use this menu to navigate to another sheet.
Control + Home Move back to cell A1 (the top of the sheet)
Home Key Move to the beginning of the row

Formatting Shortcuts

Shortcut Key Combinations Description
Control + Shit + ~ This will apply General Number formatting to selected cells
Control + Shift + $ This will apply currency formatting with 2 decimal places to selected cells
Control + Shift + % This will apply percentage formatting with 2 decimal places to selected cells
Control + # This will apply medium date formatting
Control + Shift + ! This will apply the thousand separator with 2 decimal places to selected cells
Control + B This will apply bold to selected cells
Control + I This will apply Italics to selected cells
Control + Alt + V This will display the Paste Special dialog box
Control + Y Repeats the last command or action

Worksheet: Row and Column Shortcuts

Shortcut Key Combinations Description
Control + Plus Sign (+) This inserts a new blank row or columnNote: Highlight a row or column first before using the shortcut to insert the new row/column
Control + Shift + Plus Sign (+)
(using a laptop)
This inserts a new blank row or columnNote: Highlight a row or column first before using the shortcut to insert the new row/column
Control + Minus Sign (-) This deletes a column or a row depending on what is highlighted
Control + Shift + “ Copies the value from the cell above the active cell into the cell
Control + N Create a new blank workbook
Control + W Closes the current open workbook window
Control + O Displays the Open dialog box to open a file
Control + N Creates a new workbook
Control + 9 Allows you to hide the highlighted rows
Control + Shift + ( This will unhide any hidden rows within the selection
Control + 0 Allows you to hide the highlighted columns
Control + ) This will unhide any hidden columns within the selection

Formula Shortcuts

Shortcut Key Combinations Description
Alt key + = This inserts the AutoSum formula
F4 Function Key Makes a cell reference absolute e.g. =$F$10
Control Key + ` Shows the formula in the cell rather then the value
F3 Function Key This will paste a defined name into a formula

Happy Practicing!

[et_social_follow icon_style="slide" icon_shape="rectangle" icons_location="top" col_number="auto" outer_color="dark"]

Be Brilliant at Excel. Save Hours each week and add Professional Certification to Your Resume

Even Microsoft use us to teach their employees Excel

Get access to The Ultimate Excel Training Course Bundle