There are over 200 Excel keyboard shortcuts, so we’ve compiled a list of 15 of the most useful ones.
Next worksheet / Previous worksheet
Sometimes you need to switch between different worksheets in the same workbook. You can do this by using:
Control + Page Down (Windows)
Or
Fn + Control + Down arrow (Mac) to move to the worksheet on the right.
and
Control + Page Up (Windows)
Or
Fn + Control + Up arrow (Mac) to move to the worksheet on the left.
Move to first cell in worksheet
Navigating larger worksheets can become tedious. If you want to get back to the first screen in a worksheet, you can use the keyboard shortcut:
Control + Home (Windows)
Or
Fn + Control + Left arrow (Mac)
Bold, italic, underline
Basic but essential.
Bold:
Control + B (Windows)
Or
Command + B (Mac)
Italic:
Control + I (Windows)
Or
Command + I (Mac)
Underline:
Control + U (Windows)
Or
Command + U (Mac)
Select all
The normal way of selecting all is Control + A, and this is the same in Excel. However, it behaves slightly different. If an empty cell is selected then Control + A will select the whole workbook.
If for example a table is selected, then the whole of the table will be selected and not the whole worksheet.
Move to last cell in worksheet
The last cell in a worksheet is at the intersection of the last row that contains data and the last column that contains data, so often the last cell in a worksheet doesn’t actually contain any data.
To move to the last cell in a worksheet you use:
Control + End (Windows)
Or
Fn + Control + Right arrow (Mac)
Start a new line in the same cell
As everyone knows, pressing enter in Excel doesn’t add a new line, instead it selects the next cell down. Probably one of the most Googled topics related to Excel is how to add a new line of text in the same cell.
To add a new line in the same cell you use:
Alt + Enter (Windows)
Or
Control + Option + Return (Mac)
Insert Current Date
Entering the current date can be made easy and quick by using the following:
Control + ; (Windows and Mac)
Insert Current Times
To insert the current time in a cell you use:
Control + Shift + : (Windows and Mac)
Insert rows
To enter a row using the keyboard shortcut you first have to select the entire row.
Control + Shift + + (Windows)
Or
Control + I (Mac)
Insert Columns
To insert a column using the keyboard shortcut, you must again have the entire column selected.
Control + Shift + + (Windows)
Or
Control + I (Mac)
Delete Rows
To delete a row using the keyboard shortcut, you must select the entire row that you want to delete.
Control + – (Windows and Mac)
Delete Columns
To delete a column using the keyboard shortcuts, you must select the entire column that you want to delete.
Control + – (Windows and Mac)
Create a chart
To create a chart using the keyboard shortcut, you must first select the data that you want to put into the chart.
Alt + F1 (Windows)
Or
Fn + Alt + F1 (Mac)
Select Row
Rows can be easily selected using keyboard shortcuts. First select a cell that the row is on:
Shift + Space (Windows and Mac)
Select Column
Columns can also be selected using keyboard shortcuts. First select a cell that the column is on:
Control + Space (Windows and Mac)
