Whether you prepare bills, maintain stock registers or make salary sheets, keyboard shortcuts can save hours every week. Here are the most useful Excel shortcuts for Windows (on Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl for most of them).
Navigation & selection
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Arrow key | Jump to the last filled cell in that direction |
| Ctrl + Shift + Arrow | Select up to the last filled cell |
| Ctrl + Home / Ctrl + End | Go to cell A1 / last used cell |
| Ctrl + A | Select the whole table |
| Ctrl + Space / Shift + Space | Select entire column / row |
| Ctrl + Page Up/Down | Move between sheets |
Editing
| F2 | Edit the active cell |
| Ctrl + D / Ctrl + R | Fill down / fill right from the cell above or left |
| Ctrl + ; | Insert today’s date |
| Ctrl + Shift + ; | Insert current time |
| Alt + Enter | New line inside the same cell |
| Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y | Undo / redo |
| Ctrl + + / Ctrl + - | Insert / delete rows or columns |
Formatting
| Ctrl + 1 | Open Format Cells |
| Ctrl + B / I / U | Bold / italic / underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + 4 | Currency format |
| Ctrl + Shift + 5 | Percentage format |
| Ctrl + T | Convert range into a table (auto filters & banded rows) |
Formulas & data
| Alt + = | AutoSum |
| F4 | Toggle absolute references ($A$1) while typing a formula |
| Ctrl + ` | Show formulas instead of results |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Turn filters on/off |
| Ctrl + E | Flash Fill — split or join text automatically |
| F9 | Recalculate |
Practise them
Don’t try to memorise everything at once. Pick three shortcuts this week (for example Ctrl + Arrow, Alt + = and Ctrl + 1) and use them every day. Next week add three more. In a month you will notice how much faster your work gets.
About the author
Ganesh Gavit
Owner, Online WalaFounder of Ganesha Digital. Creates software, apps and ready-to-use templates for businesses, students and CSC/VLE operators.
