Excel Shortcuts
Below are 215 of the best Excel shortcuts (tested on Excel 2010, but 95% useable in Excel 2013 as well).
Download them in Excel – FREE!
Terminology:
| Sign | Meaning |
|---|---|
| + | Press keys simultaneously |
| – | Press keys in succession |
| , | Begin a new sequence |
| RC | Right-Click |
| RD | Right-Drag |
| <###> | Click on ### in context menu |
| MK | Menu Key |
| DC | Double Click |
| Category | Task | Excel Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Alt-A | Clear Filter | Alt-A-C |
| Alt-A | Filter | Alt-A-T |
| Alt-A | Refresh Connections | Alt-A-R |
| Alt-A | Advanced Filter | Alt-A-Q |
| Alt-A | Group | Alt-A-G-G |
| Alt-A | Sort Ascending | Alt-A-S-A |
| Alt-A | Sort Descending | Alt-A-S-D |
| Alt-A | Text To Columns | Alt-A-E |
| Alt-A | Custom Sort | Alt-A-S-S |
| Alt-A | Data Validation | Alt-A-V |
| Alt-A | Get External Data Existing Connections | Alt-A-X |
| Alt-A | Subtotal | Alt-A-B |
| Alt-A | What-If Analysis | Alt-A-W |
| Alt-A | Get External Data From Access | Alt-A-F-A |
| Alt-A | Get External Data From Text | Alt-A-F-T |
| Alt-A | Get External Data From Web | Alt-A-F-W |
| Alt-E | Delete (#1) | Alt-E-D |
| Alt-E | Find/Replace | Alt-E-E |
| Alt-E | Clear All | Alt-E-A-A |
| Alt-E | Clear Contents (#1) | Alt-E-A-C |
| Alt-E | Clear Formats | Alt-E-A-F |
| Alt-E | Delete Worksheet | Alt-E-L |
| Alt-E | Paste Special Pop-Up Menu (#1) | Alt-E-S |
| Alt-F | Recent Files (To Open) | Alt-F-R |
| Alt-F | Save (#2) | Alt-F-S |
| Alt-F | Close Workbook (#2) | Alt-F-C |
| Alt-F | Exit Excel (#1) | Alt-F-X |
| Alt-F | Save As (#1) | Alt-F-A |
| Alt-F | Options | Alt-F-T |
| Alt-F | Save & Send | Alt-F-D-A |
| Alt-R | New Comment (#1) | Alt-R-C |
| Alt-R | Delete Comment | Alt-R-D |
| Alt-R | Edit Comment (#1) | Alt-R-T |
| Alt-R | New Comment (#2) | Shift+F2 |
| Alt-R | Research (#2) | Alt+Click |
| Alt-R | Spelling (#1) | Alt-R-S |
| Alt-R | Spelling (#2) | F7 |
| Alt-R | Edit Comment (#2) | Shift+F2 |
| Alt-R | Previous Comment | Alt-R-V |
| Alt-R | Research (#1) | Alt-R-R |
| Alt-R | Share Workbook | Alt-R-W |
| Alt-R | Show All Comments | Alt-R-A |
| Alt-R | Thesaurus | Alt-R-E |
| Alt-R | Track Changes | Alt-R-G |
| Alt-W | Switch Windows | Alt-W-W |
| Alt-W | Freeze Panes | Alt-W-F-F |
| Alt-W | Arrange All | Alt-W-A |
| Alt-W | Custom Views | Alt-W-C |
| Alt-W | Full Screen | Alt-W-E |
| Alt-W | Split | Alt-W-S |
| Alt-W | View Side By Side | Alt-W-B |
| Alt-W | Zoom (With Presets) | Alt-W-Q |
| Alt-W | Zoom To Selection | Alt-W-G |
| Alt-W | Hide/Show Formula Bar | Alt-W-V-F |
| Alt-W | View Gridlines | Alt-W-V-G |
| Basic Formatting | Bold (#1) | Ctrl+B |
| Basic Formatting | Bold (#2) | Ctrl+2 |
| Basic Formatting | Copy & Paste Formats | Format Painter (double-click for repeated pastes) |
| Basic Formatting | Italics (#1) | Ctrl+I |
| Basic Formatting | Underline (#2) | Ctrl+4 |
| Basic Formatting | Italics (#2) | Ctrl+3 |
| Basic Formatting | Underline (#1) | Ctrl+U |
| Basic Navigation & Selection | Extend Selection By One Cell/Row/Column | Shift+Arrow |
| Basic Navigation & Selection | Jump To Edge Of Blank(S) | Ctrl+Arrow |
| Basic Navigation & Selection | Move One Cell | Arrow |
| Basic Navigation & Selection | Select Region | Ctrl+A |
| Basic Navigation & Selection | Jump To & Select Through Edge Of Region | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow |
| Columns & Rows | Delete Column(S) Or Row(S) Once Selected | RC-D |
| Columns & Rows | Extend Selection To A Range Of Columns/Rows | Ctrl+Spacebar (or Shift+Spacebar), then Shift+Arrow until you’re at end of range |
| Columns & Rows | Select A Range Of Columns/Rows (#1) | click on first header & hold while moving mouse across to end |
| Columns & Rows | Select A Range Of Columns/Rows (#2) | click on first header, then click on end header while holding down Shift |
| Columns & Rows | Select Entire Column / Row | Ctrl+Spacebar / Shift+Spacebar |
| Columns & Rows | Select Entire Column/Row | click on column letter / row number |
| Columns & Rows | Delete Selected Column(S)/Row(S) | Ctrl+- (yes, Ctrl, followed by ‘-‘) |
| Columns & Rows | Insert Column(S) Or Row(S) Once Selected (#1) | Ctrl++ (or Ctrl+Shift+=) |
| Columns & Rows | Insert Column(S) Or Row(S) Once Selected (#2) | RC-I |
| Context 1 & 2 | Delete (#2) | RC-D |
| Context 1 & 2 | Format Cells Dialog Box | RC-F (or RC-F-F-Spacebar depending on context) |
| Context 1 & 2 | Paste Values (#2) | RC-V |
| Context 1 & 2 | Insert Copied Cells | RC-E Spacebar (or RC-E depending on context) |
| Context 1 & 2 | Paste Formatting (#1) | RC-R (or RC-R-Spacebar depending on context) |
| Context 1 & 2 | Paste Special Sub-Menu (#2) | RC-S |
| Context 1 & 2 | Row Height | RC-R (or RC-R-R-Spacebar depending on context) |
| Context 1 & 2 | Clear Contents (#2) | Click on Context Menu option |
| Context 1 & 2 | Hide And Unhide | Click on Context Menu option |
| Context 1 & 2 | Insert | Click on Context Menu option |
| Cut, Copy & Paste | Copy | Ctrl+C |
| Cut, Copy & Paste | Paste | Ctrl+V |
| Cut, Copy & Paste | Cut | Ctrl+X |
| Find & Replace | Find | Ctrl+F |
| Find & Replace | Replace (#2) | Alt-E-E |
| Find & Replace | Replace (#1) | Ctrl+H |
| Formatting II | Paste Formatting (#1) | RC-R (F4 for repeated pastes) |
| Formatting III | Format Cells Dialog Box | Ctrl+1 |
| Formatting III | Create Borders | Ctrl+Shift+7 |
| Formatting III | Currency Format | Ctrl+Shift+4 |
| Formatting III | Percent Format | Ctrl+Shift+5 |
| Formatting III | Remove Borders | Ctrl+Shift+- |
| Formatting III | Font Size | Ctrl+Shift+P |
| Formatting III | Font Style | Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Formatting III | Comma Format (W/ 2 Decimals) | Ctrl+Shift+1 |
| Formatting III | Date Format | Ctrl+Shift+3 |
| Formatting III | General Format | Ctrl+Shift+` (accent grave) |
| Formatting III | Time Format | Ctrl+Shift+2 |
| Formatting III | Exponential Format | Ctrl+Shift+6 |
| Jumping To Cells | Go Back To Most Recent Cell (#1) | Ctrl+G, then Enter |
| Jumping To Cells | Go Back To Most Recent Cell (#2) | F5, then Enter |
| Jumping To Cells | Go To Specific Cell (#2) | F5, input cell reference, Enter |
| Jumping To Cells | Go To Direct Precedents / Dependents | Ctrl+[ / Ctrl+] |
| Jumping To Cells | Go To Specific Cell (#1) | Ctrl+G, input cell reference, Enter |
| Jumping To Cells | Go To Direct & Indirect Precedents / Dependents | Ctrl+Shift+[ / Ctrl+Shift+] |
| Jumping To Cells | Select Everything Between Current and Specified Cell (#1) | Ctrl+G, input cell reference, Shift+Enter |
| Jumping To Cells | Select Everything Between Current and Specified Cell (#2) | F5, input cell reference, Shift+Enter |
| Miscellaneous | Close Workbook (#1) | Ctrl+W |
| Miscellaneous | Delete Worksheet | Alt-E-L |
| Miscellaneous | Autofit Column Width (Or Row Height) | DC right/bottom border of column/row |
| Miscellaneous | Create Chart On Same Tab | Alt+F1 |
| Miscellaneous | Exit Excel (#2) | Alt+F4 |
| Miscellaneous | Explode Pivot Detail | DC pivot data |
| Miscellaneous | Hide Columns | Ctrl+0 |
| Miscellaneous | Hide Rows | Ctrl+9 |
| Miscellaneous | New Workbook | Ctrl+N |
| Miscellaneous | New Worksheet | Shift+F11 |
| Miscellaneous | Open Workbook | Ctrl+O |
| Miscellaneous | Save As (#2) | F12 |
| Miscellaneous | Unhide Columns | Ctrl+Shift+0 |
| Miscellaneous | Unhide Rows | Ctrl+Shift+9 |
| Miscellaneous | Autofill / Automatically Extend Sequence | Drag or DC fill handle of selected sequence |
| Miscellaneous | Create Chart On New Tab | F11 |
| Miscellaneous | Create Table (#1) | Ctrl+T |
| Miscellaneous | Create Table (#2) | Ctrl+L |
| Miscellaneous | Entering Characters In A Row (Vs. A Column) | Hit Tab instead of Enter |
| Miscellaneous | Help | F1 |
| Miscellaneous | Paste Name Dialog Box | F3 |
| Miscellaneous | Ctrl+P | |
| Miscellaneous | Rename Worksheet | DC tab name, then change name |
| Miscellaneous | Copy Formula From Above | Ctrl+’ (apostrophe) |
| Miscellaneous | Copy Only Visible Cells | Alt+; (after selecting, but before copying ) |
| Miscellaneous | Copy Value From Above | Ctrl+Shift+’ (apostrophe) |
| Miscellaneous | Hide Ribbon | Ctrl+F1 |
| Miscellaneous | Insert Current Date | Ctrl+; |
| Miscellaneous | Insert Current Time | Ctrl+Shift+; |
| Miscellaneous | Insert Current Date And Time | Ctrl+; , Spacebar, Ctrl+Shift+; |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Go To Most Recent Workbook | Alt+Tab+Tab if in Excel; Alt+Tab if not in Excel, but Excel was most recent window |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Open Switch Windows Drop-Down | Alt-W-W |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Rotate Fwd/Bkwd Between Open Programs/Windows | Alt+Tab / Alt+Shift+Tab (keep tapping Tab key) |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Go To Next/Previous Open Excel File | Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Move Right /Left to Next Tab | Ctrl+PgDn/PgUp |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Select Multiple Adjacent / Non-Adjacent Worksheets | Shift+Click / Ctrl+Click on tabs |
| Moving Between Wkshts/Wkbks/Win | Jump To Tab (Good When Many Tabs) | RC on tab navigation arrows, then select tab |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Enter A Tab | Tab |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Next / Previous Option In Tab | Tab / Shift+Tab |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Check/Unchecks Box | Spacebar |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Finalize Selections | Enter |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Next / Previous Tab (#1) | Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Next / Previous Tab (#2) | Ctrl+Letter (if underlined letter) |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Next / Previous Tab (#3) | First letter (if no underlined letter) |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Next / Previous Tab (#4) | ←→ (if no underlined letter) |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Next/Previous Option | ←→ (…but can get stuck) |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Navigate Dropdowns | ↑↓ or first letter (Enter or Tab selects option; ESC exits dropdown with no change) |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Option w/ Underlined Letter | Alt+Letter (Checkbox items will be checked; Alt+Letter again will uncheck) |
| Navigating Dialog Boxes | Go To Radio Button W/Underlined Letter | Letter |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select region | Ctrl+A |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select Region & Move Viewpoint To Last Cell | Ctrl+A (from 1st cell in region) |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Zoom In/Out (For Inspection) | Ctrl+spin mouse wheel |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Go To Cell A1 | Ctrl+Home |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select Entire Sheet | Ctrl+(A-A) |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select Through “Last Used Cell” | Ctrl+Shift+End |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Go To Cell A1, Select Region & View Last Cell | Ctrl+(Home-A) |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select Through Next Border | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select (Remote) Region | Ctrl+* (or Ctrl+Shift+8) |
| Navigation & Selection For Big Data | Select (Remote) Region & View Last Cell | Ctrl+ *-↑-↓, Ctrl+A |
| Navigation & Selection For Small Data | Select Contiguous Region | Click on first cell, then Shift-Click on end cell |
| Navigation & Selection For Small Data | Select Non-Contiguous Cells Or Region | Select first region; press Ctrl while selectiong add’l regions |
| Paste Special | Paste Values (#1) | RC-V |
| Paste Special | Paste Formatting (#1) | RC-R |
| Paste Special | Paste Special Sub-Menu (#1) | RC-S |
| Paste Special | Paste Special – Values & Number Formats | RC-S-A |
| Paste Special | Paste Special Pop-Up Menu (#1) | Alt-E-S |
| Paste Special | Paste Special Pop-Up Menu (#2) | RC-S-S |
| Paste Special | Paste Formula (#1) | RC-F-spacebar |
| Paste Special | Paste Formula (#2) | RC-S-F |
| Paste Special | Transpose | RC-S-T |
| Paste Special | Paste Special Sub-Menu (W/ Screen Tips) | Alt-H-V |
| Paste Special | Add Zero For Text –> Number Format | RC-S-S-V-D- |
| Paste Special | Paste Link (#1) | RC- |
| Paste Special | Paste Link (#2) | RC-N-Spacebar |
| Paste Special | Copy And Paste Column Widths | RC-S-S-W-Enter |
| Paste Special | Multiply Cells By 1000 | RC-S-S-V– |
| Paste Special | Paste Special — Picture (#1) | RC-S-U |
| Paste Special | Paste Special — Picture (#1) | RC-S- |
| Right-Drag | Copy And Paste | Drag selection, release, all while pressing Ctrl |
| Right-Drag | Cut And Paste | Drag selection, release at destination |
| Right-Drag | Copy & Paste | RD-C |
| Right-Drag | Convert To Values “Wiggle” | RD-V (back onto copied selection) |
| Right-Drag | Copy & Paste Values | RD-V |
| Right-Drag | Insert Copied Cells & Shift Down | RD-S |
| Right-Drag | Insert Copied Cells & Shift Right | RD-T |
| Right-Drag | Paste Formatting (#2) | RD-F |
| Right-Drag | Insert Cut Cells & Shift Down | RD-D |
| Right-Drag | Insert Cut Cells & Shift Right | RD-R |
| Save | Save (#1) | Ctrl+S |
| Undo & Redo | Undo | Ctrl+Z |
| Undo & Redo | Redo (#2) | F4 |
| Undo & Redo | Redo (#1) | Ctrl+Y |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Formula One Cell Across | Ctrl+R |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Formula One Cell Down | Ctrl+D (will copy cell just above it) |
| Working With Formulas | Edit Formula, Get Visual On Formula References (#2) | Double-click formula cell |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Down Formula To End Of Adjacent Column | Double-Click “Fill Handle” (bottom right corner of cell) |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Down/Across Formula (#1) | Drag cell by Fill Handle |
| Working With Formulas | Edit Formula, Get Visual On Formula References (#1) | F2 on formula cell |
| Working With Formulas | Autosum | Alt+= |
| Working With Formulas | Cancel Formula Editing | ESC |
| Working With Formulas | Lock Cell References / Rotate Through Options | F4 (while in Edit Mode) / repeat F4 as needed |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Down/Across Formula (#3) | Select range, type formula, hit Ctrl+Enter |
| Working With Formulas | Faster Formula Entry | Begin with ‘+’ instead of ‘=’ |
| Working With Formulas | Faster Formula Entry (With Functions) | Type first letters of function, Tab, enter arguments, Enter |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Down/Across Formula (#2) | Ctrl+C, select target cells, Ctrl+V |
| Working With Formulas | Copy Down/Across Formula (#4) | Select range (first cell must be the one to be copied), then Ctrl+D / Ctrl+R |
| Working With Formulas | Display All Formulas Instead Of Values | Ctrl+` |
| Working With Formulas | Find Bottom Of Column, Then Copy Down Formula | Go to bottom, Ctrl+Shift+↑,Ctrl+D |
| Working With Formulas | Recalculate All Formulas In Workbook | F9 |
| Working With Formulas | Recalculate Formulas In Open Worksheet Only | Shift+F9 |