Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
The Excel shortcuts worth committing to memory, grouped by what you are trying to do. Type in the box to filter; the whole table prints on two pages.
Most Excel shortcut lists are 200 rows long and therefore useless — nobody memorises 200 keystrokes. This one is about 35, chosen because they come up constantly rather than because they exist.
If you only take three: Ctrl+↓ to jump to the bottom of a column instead of scrolling, Ctrl+Shift+L to toggle filters, and F4 to cycle a reference between relative and absolute while you are writing the formula. Those three alone save more time than the rest of the table combined.
Want the skill rather than the keystroke? The Excel courses cover this material with an instructor, and the Excel productivity guides cover it in writing, free.
Move around
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + ↓ ↑ ← → | ⌘ + ↓ ↑ ← → | Jump to the edge of the filled data in that direction | |
| Ctrl + Home | — | Go to cell A1 | |
| Ctrl + End | — | Go to the last used cell on the sheetOften further out than you expect — a good way to find stray formatting. | |
| Ctrl + Page Down | — | Move to the next worksheet | |
| Ctrl + Page Up | — | Move to the previous worksheet | |
| Ctrl + G | ⌘ + G | Open Go To — type a cell address or a named range | |
| Ctrl + F | ⌘ + F | Find |
Select
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + ↓ ↑ ← → | ⌘ + Shift + ↓ ↑ ← → | Select from here to the edge of the data | |
| Ctrl + Space | ⌃ + Space | Select the entire column | |
| Shift + Space | Shift + Space | Select the entire row | |
| Ctrl + A | ⌘ + A | Select the current data region, then the whole sheet on a second press | |
| Alt + ; | — | Select visible cells only — skips anything hidden by a filterEssential before copying filtered data. Without it you copy the hidden rows too. |
Enter and edit data
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| F2 | ⌃ + U | Edit the active cell in place instead of overwriting it | |
| Ctrl + Enter | ⌃ + Enter | Fill every selected cell with what you just typed | |
| Alt + Enter | ⌥ + Enter | Start a new line inside the same cell | |
| Ctrl + D | ⌘ + D | Fill down from the cell above | |
| Ctrl + R | ⌘ + R | Fill right from the cell to the left | |
| Ctrl + ; | ⌘ + ; | Insert today's date as a fixed valueA static date, unlike TODAY(), which changes every time the file opens. | |
| Ctrl + Shift + ; | — | Insert the current time as a fixed value | |
| Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y | ⌘ + Z / ⌘ + Y | Undo, then redo |
Formulas
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| F4 | ⌘ + T | Cycle a reference between A1, $A$1, A$1 and $A1 while editingThe single most useful key in Excel. Press it with the cursor inside a reference. | |
| Alt + = | ⌘ + Shift + T | Insert AutoSum for the range above or to the left | |
| Ctrl + ` | ⌃ + ` | Show formulas instead of results across the whole sheetThe backtick, left of the 1 key. Press again to switch back. | |
| F9 | — | While editing, evaluate just the highlighted part of a formulaThe fastest way to find which part of a long formula is wrong. Press Esc afterwards, not Enter. | |
| Ctrl + [ | — | Jump to the cells this formula refers to | |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | — | Expand or collapse the formula bar |
Format
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + 1 | ⌘ + 1 | Open Format Cells | |
| Ctrl + B / I / U | ⌘ + B / I / U | Bold, italic, underline | |
| Ctrl + Shift + $ | — | Apply currency format | |
| Ctrl + Shift + % | — | Apply percentage format | |
| Ctrl + Shift + ~ | — | Return to General formatUseful when a cell has inherited a date format and shows 45,000 instead of a number. | |
| Ctrl + Alt + V | ⌃ + ⌘ + V | Paste Special — values, formats or formulas only |
Tables and filters
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + T | ⌘ + T | Turn the current range into a tableDo this before you build formulas against it and the references name themselves. | |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | — | Turn filters on or off | |
| Alt + ↓ | — | Open the filter dropdown on the selected header | |
| Ctrl + Shift + + | — | Insert cells, rows or columns | |
| Ctrl + - | ⌘ + - | Delete cells, rows or columns |
Workbook
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + S | ⌘ + S | Save | |
| Ctrl + P | ⌘ + P | ||
| Ctrl + W | ⌘ + W | Close the workbook | |
| Ctrl + F1 | — | Collapse or restore the ribbon |
Nothing on this sheet matches that. Clear the box to see everything, or try another cheat sheet.
Other cheat sheets
- Outlook & OneNote ShortcutsOutlook and OneNote shortcuts in one place, because most people use them in the same half hour. Filter with the box; print it for the wall.
- Microsoft 365 ShortcutsShortcuts that work everywhere in Microsoft 365, plus the handful of app-specific ones worth the memory. Filter the table or print it.
- Bookkeeping Month-End ChecklistThe order to do a month-end close in, written for Canadian small business. Tick down the list; print it and keep it beside the screen.
All four are listed on the cheat sheets index, and the rest of the free material is in the guide library.