Keyboard shortcuts to expedite your functionality inside MS Excel

Introduction

Excel is an incredibly powerful tool for data analysis, but it can be time-consuming to navigate menus and toolbars. Mastering keyboard shortcuts is key to working efficiently in Excel. In this post, we'll cover 100 of the most useful Excel shortcuts for data processing, with a brief description of what each one does.

Navigation Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+Home - Move to the beginning of the worksheet
  • Ctrl+End - Move to the last cell with data
  • Ctrl+PgUp - Move to the previous worksheet
  • Ctrl+PgDn - Move to the next worksheet
  • Ctrl+[ - Select all cells referenced by the formula in the active cell
  • Ctrl+] - Select all cells that reference the active cell

Selection Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+Spacebar - Select the current column
  • Shift+Spacebar - Select the current row
  • Ctrl+A - Select the entire worksheet
  • Ctrl+Shift+8 (or *) - Select the current region
  • Ctrl+Shift+L - Select the current table
  • Ctrl+Shift+T - Select the current table with headers

Editing Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+C - Copy the selected cells
  • Ctrl+X - Cut the selected cells
  • Ctrl+V - Paste the copied/cut cells
  • Ctrl+D - Fill the selected cells down
  • Ctrl+R - Fill the selected cells to the right
  • Ctrl+; - Insert the current date
  • Ctrl+Shift+: - Insert the current time

Formatting Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+1 - Open the Format Cells dialog
  • Ctrl+B - Bold the selected cells
  • Ctrl+I - Italicize the selected cells
  • Ctrl+U - Underline the selected cells
  • Ctrl+5 - Apply strikethrough to the selected cells
  • Ctrl+Shift+$ - Apply currency format
  • Ctrl+Shift+% - Apply percentage format
  • Ctrl+Shift+^ - Apply scientific format
  • Ctrl+Shift+# - Apply date format
  • Ctrl+Shift+@ - Apply time format
  • Ctrl+Shift+! - Apply number format

Function Shortcuts

  • Alt+= - Insert an AutoSum formula
  • Ctrl+` - Show formulas instead of values
  • F2 - Edit the active cell
  • F4 - Repeat the last action
  • F5 - Open the Go To dialog
  • F7 - Open the Spelling dialog
  • F9 - Calculate all worksheets
  • Shift+F9 - Calculate the active worksheet
  • F11 - Create a chart of the selected data
  • Ctrl+F3 - Open the Name Manager
  • Ctrl+F9 - Minimize the active workbook window
  • Ctrl+F10 - Maximize the active workbook window
  • Ctrl+F11 - Insert a new macro
  • Alt+F8 - Open the Macro dialog

Data Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+L - Create a table from the selected data
  • Ctrl+Shift+L - Apply an autofilter to the selected data
  • Alt+Down Arrow - Open the filter dropdown for the active cell
  • Ctrl+Shift+T - Convert a range to a table
  • Ctrl+Shift+E - Remove duplicates from the selected data
  • Ctrl+Shift+A - Insert an outline border around the selected cells
  • Ctrl+Shift+9 - Remove an outline border from the selected cells

Miscellaneous Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+N - Create a new workbook
  • Ctrl+O - Open an existing workbook
  • Ctrl+S - Save the active workbook
  • Ctrl+P - Open the Print dialog
  • Ctrl+W - Close the active workbook
  • Ctrl+Z - Undo the last action
  • Ctrl+Y - Redo the last action
  • Ctrl+F - Open the Find and Replace dialog
  • Ctrl+H - Open the Find and Replace dialog with the Replace tab selected
  • Ctrl+K - Insert a hyperlink
  • Ctrl+M - Insert a new worksheet
  • Ctrl+T - Insert a new table
  • Ctrl+Shift+8 - Show or hide gridlines
  • Ctrl+Shift+9 - Show or hide headings
  • Ctrl+Shift+0 - Show or hide the formula bar
  • Ctrl+Shift+U - Show or hide the ribbon
  • Alt+F1 - Create a chart of the selected data
  • Alt+F11 - Open the Visual Basic Editor

Conclusion

These shortcuts cover a wide range of data processing tasks in Excel, from navigation and selection to formatting and analysis. With practice, you'll be able to use these shortcuts to work more efficiently and effectively with data in Excel. Happy calculating!