What is Excel Keyboard Shortcuts?
Excel keyboard shortcuts are key combinations that accomplish a particular purpose.
They are created to help Excel users quickly access the features that they want without clicking multiple buttons or going to multiple menus.
Aside from its benefits and helping us a lot, learning keyboard shortcuts is also fun.
Many people have already benefited from this, particularly students and employees. It is an advantage to learn shortcuts, as it makes our work more efficient.
Basic Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel
The following are the primary or well-known keyboard shortcuts in Excel that we must master: Through these shortcuts, our work with Excel may become more efficient and hassle-free.
So, without further ado, here are the basic keyboard shortcuts.
| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + A | Used to select all the data on the worksheet. |
| Ctrl + B | Used to bold selected text on the worksheet. |
| Ctrl + C | Used to copy texts or cells on worksheets. |
| Ctrl + F | Used to open the find dialog box. |
| Ctrl + I | Used to change the text into italics. |
| Ctrl + N | Used to create a new workbook. |
| Ctrl + O | Used to open a file or workbook. |
| Ctrl + P | Used to print your data. |
| Ctrl + S | Used to save the data input. |
| Ctrl + U | Used to underline text. |
| Ctrl + V | Used to paste copied texts or cells. |
| Ctrl + W | Used to close a file or workbook. |
| Ctrl + X | Used to cut or move the selected texts or cells. |
| Ctrl + Y | Used to redo or repeat the last action. |
| Ctrl + Z | Used to undo recent action. |
Navigation Shortcuts
Since we already know the basic keyboard shortcuts, let’s also learn Excel’s navigation shortcuts. Here are some:
| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Arrow Keys (←↓↑→) | Used to move the cursor left, down, up, or right. |
| Ctrl + Left Arrow Key (←) | Used to move to the left end of the worksheet. |
| Ctrl + Right Arrow Key (→) | Used to move to the right end of the worksheet. |
| Ctrl + Up Arrow Key (↑) | Used to move to the top of the worksheet. |
| Ctrl + Down Arrow Key (↓) | Used to move to the bottom of the worksheet. |
| Tab | Used to move one cell to the right. |
| Shift + Tab | Used to move to the previous cell. |
| Ctrl + End | Used to move to the last cell of the worksheet that contains data. |
| Ctrl + Home | Used to move to the beginning of the worksheet. |
Ribbon Keyboard Shortcuts
The following are the ribbon keyboard shortcuts we must know.
Hold the Alt key to show shortcut keys for the ribbon commands in Excel. Upon pressing the Alt key, this will show up:
See the shortcut keys below to understand further.| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + F | Used to open the File Menu. |
| Alt + H | Used to open the Home tab. |
| Alt + N | Used to open the Insert tab. |
| Alt + P | Used to open the Page Layout tab. |
| Alt + M | Used to open the Formulas tab. |
| Alt + A | Used to open the Data tab. |
| Alt + R | Used to open the review tab. |
| Alt + W | Used to open the View tab. |
| Alt + L | Used to open the developer tab. |
| Alt + Y | Used to open the Help tab. |
| Alt + Q | Used to move to the search field. |
See also the keyboard shortcuts upon clicking the following:
- Alt + H or the Home tab.
- Alt + N or the Insert tab.
- Alt + P or the Page Layout tab.
- Alt + M or the Formulas tab.
- Alt + A or the Data tab.
- Alt + R or the Review tab.
- Alt + W or the View tab.
- Alt + L or the Developer tab.
- Alt + Y or the Help tab.
Insert Keyboard Shortcuts
The following are the insert keyboard shortcuts. Learn some shortcut keys for inserting features into our Excel files or worksheets. Here are some:
| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + F1 | Used to insert a chart. |
| Ctrl + Shift + (+) | Used to insert a cell, row, or column. |
| Alt + I + C | Used to insert a column. |
| Alt + I + R | Used to insert a row. |
| Alt + N + P | Used to insert a picture. |
| Alt + N + S + H | Used to insert a shape. |
| Alt + N + U | Used to insert a symbol. |
| Alt + N + V | Used to insert a pivot table. |
| Alt + N + X | Used to insert a textbox. |
| Ctrl + 5 | Used to insert a strikethrough into text. |
| Ctrl + (;) | Used to insert the current date. |
| Ctrl + Shift + (;) | Used to insert the current time. |
| Ctrl + K | Used to insert hyperlinks in texts. |
| Ctrl + T | Used to insert a table. |
| Shift + F2 | Used to insert a cell comment. |
| Shift + F11 | Used to insert a new worksheet. |
Formatting Cells
The following are some keyboard shortcut keys for formatting cells.
| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + 1 | Used to open the Format Cells dialog box. |
| Ctrl + T | Used to change or convert selected cells to a table. |
| Ctrl + Q | Used to show the quick analysis tool. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Used to format fonts in the format cells dialog box. |
| Ctrl + Shift + G | Used to display the workbook statistics dialog box. |
| Ctrl + Shift + (&) | Used to apply an outline border to selected cells. |
| Ctrl + Shift + (_) | Used to remove the outline border from selected cells. |
| Ctrl + Shift + (~) | Used to apply the general number format. |
| Alt + H + FG | Used to increase the font size. |
| Alt + H + FK | Used to decrease the font size. |
| Alt + H + M + C | Used to merge cells. |
| Alt + H + M + U | Used to unmerge cells. |
| Alt + H + H | Used to change cell color. |
Symbols Keyboard Shortcuts
The following are keyboard shortcuts for commonly used symbols in Excel that are not found on the keyboard itself.
| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + 24 | (↑) Up arrow symbol |
| Alt + 25 | (↓) Down arrow symbol |
| Alt + 26 | (→) Right arrow symbol |
| Alt + 27 | (←) Left arrow symbol |
| Alt + 251 | (√) Check symbol |
| Alt + 0128 | (€) Euro symbol |
| Alt + 0162 | (¢) Cent symbol |
| Alt + 0163 | (£) Pound symbol |
| Alt + 0169 | (©) Copyright symbol |
| Alt + 0176 | (°) Degree symbol |
| Alt + 0247 | (÷) Division symbol |
| Alt + 0215 | (×) Multiplication symbol |
Keyboard Shortcuts Advantages
The following are some of the advantages of using keyboard shortcuts:
- IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY. Using keyboard shortcuts improves user productivity as it allows users to have quick access to Excel’s features.
- SAVES USER TIME. Using keyboard shortcuts saves users time as it allows them to work quickly and efficiently.
- LESSEN STRESS. Using keyboard shortcuts lessens users’ stress as it makes their work easier and more uncomplicated.
Conclusion
In conclusion, keyboard shortcuts in Excel are essential for anyone who’s working with Excel. These shortcuts not only save users’ time but also help them improve their productivity.
All in all, Excel’s keyboard shortcuts make the user’s work simple and more productive.
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Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.