If you’re like most busy professionals, you probably use Microsoft Excel on a daily basis. And if you’re like most people, you probably only know a handful of Excel shortcuts. Learning just a few more Excel shortcuts can save you a lot of time and make you more productive. Here are 19 Excel shortcuts for the busy professional:
- Ctrl + N: Create a new workbook
- Ctrl + O: Open an existing workbook
- Ctrl + S: Save the current workbook
- Ctrl + W: Close the current workbook
- Ctrl + F: Open the Find dialog box
- Ctrl + H: Open the Replace dialog box
- Ctrl + G: Open the Go To dialog box
- F5: Open the Go To dialog box
- Ctrl + P: Open the Print dialog box
- Ctrl + Z: Undo the last action
- Ctrl + Y: Redo the last action
- Ctrl + A: Select the entire worksheet
- Ctrl + B: Bold the selected text
- Ctrl + I: Italicize the selected text
- Ctrl + U: Underline the selected text
- Ctrl + 5: Strikethrough the selected text
- Ctrl + 1: Open the Format Cells dialog box
- Ctrl + 2: Bold the selected text
- Ctrl + 3: Italicize the selected text
- Ctrl + 4: Underline the selected text
- Ctrl + 6: Strikethrough the selected text
Learning just a few of these shortcuts can save you a lot of time. So next time you’re in Excel, try out a few of these shortcuts and see how much faster you can work.
Excel is an incredibly powerful tool for data analysis, but it can also be time-consuming to use. If you’re a busy professional who needs to get things done quickly, you’ll want to take advantage of Excel’s many keyboard shortcuts. Here are 19 of the most useful shortcuts to help you work more efficiently.
Navigation Shortcuts
1. Ctrl + Home / End
These shortcuts will take you to the beginning or end of your worksheet, respectively. This is useful for quickly navigating to the top or bottom of a large data set.
2. Ctrl + Arrow Keys
Use these shortcuts to move to the next non-blank cell in the direction of the arrow key you press. For example, Ctrl + Down Arrow will take you to the next non-blank cell below your current position.
3. Ctrl + Page Up / Page Down
These shortcuts will move you to the previous or next worksheet in your workbook. This is useful if you have multiple worksheets open and need to switch between them quickly.
Selection Shortcuts
4. Shift + Arrow Keys
Use these shortcuts to select cells in the direction of the arrow key you press. For example, Shift + Down Arrow will select all cells from your current position to the next non-blank cell below.
5. Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys
Use these shortcuts to select entire rows or columns. For example, Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow will select all cells in the column below your current position.
6. Ctrl + A
This shortcut will select all cells in your worksheet. This is useful if you need to apply a formatting change or formula to your entire data set.
Editing Shortcuts
7. F2
Pressing F2 will allow you to edit the contents of the currently selected cell. This is useful if you need to make a quick change to a formula or text string.
8. Ctrl + C / Ctrl + X / Ctrl + V
These shortcuts are the standard copy, cut, and paste shortcuts. They work just like they do in other programs, allowing you to quickly move or duplicate data within your worksheet.
9. Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y
These shortcuts are the undo and redo shortcuts, respectively. They allow you to quickly undo or redo changes you’ve made to your worksheet.
10. Ctrl + D / Ctrl + R
These shortcuts will fill the contents of the currently selected cell down or to the right, respectively. This is useful if you need to quickly duplicate data across a row or column.
Formatting Shortcuts
11. Ctrl + B / Ctrl + I / Ctrl + U
These shortcuts will apply bold, italic, or underline formatting to the currently selected text. This is useful if you need to quickly emphasize certain data within your worksheet.
12. Ctrl + 1
This shortcut will open the Format Cells dialog box, allowing you to quickly apply formatting changes to your selected cells.
13. Ctrl + Shift + $ / % / ^
Use these shortcuts to quickly apply currency, percentage, or exponential formatting to your selected cells.
Formula Shortcuts
14. F4
Pressing F4 will toggle between absolute and relative cell references within a formula. This is useful if you need to quickly change the reference type of a cell within a formula.
15. Ctrl + ;
This shortcut will insert the current date into the selected cell. This is useful if you need to quickly add a timestamp to your worksheet.
16. Ctrl + Shift + ;
This shortcut will insert the current time into the selected cell. This is useful if you need to quickly add a timestamp to your worksheet.
Other Shortcuts
17. Alt + =
This shortcut will automatically sum the selected cells. This is useful if you need to quickly calculate a total for a column or row of data.
18. Ctrl + F
This shortcut will open the Find and Replace dialog box, allowing you to quickly search for specific data within your worksheet.
19. Ctrl + H
This shortcut will open the Find and Replace dialog box, but with the Replace tab selected. This is useful if you need to quickly replace specific data within your worksheet.
By using these shortcuts, you can save time and work more efficiently in Excel. Try incorporating them into your workflow and see how much time you can save!
