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How to Use Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
Applies to: Microsoft 365 (Excel for Windows, Excel for Mac, Excel for the web); Excel 2021, Excel 2019
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29
Summary
This is an Excel-specific shortcut reference, grouped by the task you are trying to finish rather than by key. Work through it once and you will move around a large sheet, select ranges, format numbers, and fix formulas without reaching for the mouse. For the shortcuts that work everywhere in Windows and across the rest of Microsoft 365, see How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Work Faster in Windows and Microsoft 365.
Prerequisites
- Microsoft Excel on Windows or Mac, or Excel for the web. Differences are called out where they matter.
- A standard keyboard. On a compact or laptop keyboard you may need the Fn key to reach F2, F4, Home, and End.
- No admin rights required for anything in this article.
Instructions
1. Start With the Ten That Save the Most Time
If you learn nothing else from this article, learn these. Each one replaces a sequence of clicks you make many times a day.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Arrow | Jump to the last filled cell in that direction |
| Ctrl + Shift + Arrow | Select everything from here to that last filled cell |
| Ctrl + T | Turn the current range into a Table |
| Ctrl + ; | Stamp today's date into the cell as a fixed value |
| Ctrl + Enter | Fill every cell in the selection with what you typed |
| Alt + Enter | Start a new line inside the same cell |
| Ctrl + 1 | Open the Format Cells dialog |
| F2 | Edit the active cell in place, with the cursor at the end |
| F4 | Cycle a formula reference through its absolute forms |
| Alt + = | Insert an AutoSum below or beside the selected numbers |
Tip: Learn them in pairs. Ctrl + Arrow and Ctrl + Shift + Arrow are the same movement — one moves the cursor, the other drags a selection along with it. Once that clicks, half of this article is muscle memory.
2. Move Around and Select Data
A sheet with 10,000 rows is a scrolling problem. These shortcuts turn it into a two-keystroke problem.
Moving around
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Arrow | Jump to the edge of the current block of data. Press again to cross a gap to the next block |
| Ctrl + Home | Return to cell A1 |
| Ctrl + End | Jump to the bottom-right corner of the used range |
| Ctrl + Page Down / Ctrl + Page Up | Move to the next / previous worksheet tab |
| Ctrl + G or F5 | Open Go To. Type a reference such as M240 and press Enter |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Scroll back to the active cell after you have scrolled away from it |
| Alt + Page Down / Alt + Page Up | Move one screen right / left |
Verification: Press Ctrl + End on a sheet you think is empty below row 200. If the cursor lands on row 4,000, there is stray content or formatting down there — a common reason a small file is 30 MB.
Selecting
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + Arrow | Extend the selection to the edge of the data block |
| Ctrl + Space | Select the entire column |
| Shift + Space | Select the entire row |
| Ctrl + A | Select the current block of data. Press again for the whole sheet |
| Ctrl + Shift + End | Select from the active cell to the last used cell |
| Shift + Arrow | Extend the selection one cell at a time |
| Alt + ; | Select visible cells only, skipping hidden rows |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Turn the filter arrows on the header row on or off |
Note: Alt + ; is the one people miss. When rows are hidden manually rather than filtered out, a normal copy takes the hidden rows with it and pastes them back into view. Selecting visible cells only leaves them behind.
3. Enter and Edit Data Faster
Most data entry time goes on retyping the same value and on fighting cells that will not take a line break.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Alt + Enter | Start a new line inside the cell. Excel turns on Wrap Text for that cell |
| Ctrl + Enter | Fill the whole selection with what you typed, without moving the cursor |
| Ctrl + ; | Insert today's date as a fixed value |
| Ctrl + Shift + ; | Insert the current time as a fixed value |
| Ctrl + D | Copy the cell above down into the rest of the selection |
| Ctrl + R | Copy the cell on the left across the rest of the selection |
| Alt + Down Arrow | Open a pick list of entries already used in that column, or a data validation dropdown |
| Ctrl + Shift + Plus (+) | Insert cells, rows, or columns |
| Ctrl + Minus (-) | Delete cells, rows, or columns |
| Shift + F11 | Insert a new worksheet |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste values only, dropping the source formatting |
To use Ctrl + Enter, select the range first, type the value or formula once, then press Ctrl + Enter instead of Enter. Every selected cell receives it at once, and formula references adjust per row the same way a fill-down does.
Tip: Ctrl + ; and
=TODAY()are not interchangeable. Ctrl + ; writes a fixed date that stays put;=TODAY()rewrites itself every time the workbook opens. For a "date received" column you want the fixed one.
Note: Ctrl + Shift + V for paste values arrived in Microsoft 365 builds from 2023 onward. On Excel 2019 and Excel 2021, use Alt, H, V, V instead — Step 6 explains how those sequences work.
4. Format Cells and Numbers
Number formatting is where the keyboard beats the ribbon by the widest margin, because the ribbon route is three clicks and a dropdown every time.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + 1 | Open Format Cells — the dialog behind every formatting option |
| Ctrl + B / Ctrl + I / Ctrl + U | Bold / italic / underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + $ | Currency, two decimal places |
| Ctrl + Shift + % | Percentage, no decimal places |
| Ctrl + Shift + # | Date format, day-month-year |
| Ctrl + Shift + @ | Time format |
| Ctrl + Shift + ! | Number with a thousands separator and two decimals |
| Ctrl + Shift + ~ | General format, which strips number formatting back off |
| Ctrl + 5 | Strikethrough |
| Ctrl + 9 | Hide the selected rows |
| Ctrl + Shift + 9 | Unhide the rows inside the selection |
| Ctrl + 0 | Hide the selected columns |
| Alt, H, O, I | AutoFit column width to the widest entry |
Note: Ctrl + Shift + 0 is meant to unhide columns, and on most Windows machines a keyboard-layout shortcut swallows it before Excel sees it. Select the columns either side of the hidden ones and use Home > Format > Hide & Unhide > Unhide Columns instead.
Verification: Select a cell holding
0.25, press Ctrl + Shift + %, and the cell reads25%. Press Ctrl + Shift + ~ and it returns to0.25. The stored value never changed — only the format did.
5. Work Faster in Formulas
These are the ones that turn formula editing from guesswork into something you can inspect.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| F2 | Edit the active cell in place. Every reference in the formula highlights in a matching color on the sheet |
| F4 | Cycle the reference beside the cursor: A1 becomes $A$1, then A$1, then $A1, then back to A1 |
| Alt + = | Insert an AutoSum for the numbers above or to the left |
| Ctrl + ` (backtick) | Show every formula instead of its result. Press again to switch back |
| F9 | With part of a formula selected in the formula bar, replace that part with the value it returns |
| F3 | Paste a defined name into the formula you are writing |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | Expand or collapse the formula bar so a long formula is readable |
| Esc | Abandon the edit and restore what the cell held before |
F4 is worth a minute of practice on its own. Press it while the cursor sits on or beside a reference, not while the whole formula is selected. What it produces is explained in full in Understanding Absolute and Relative Cell References in Excel.
F9 is the fastest way to find out why a formula returns the wrong answer. Select the inner part — the VLOOKUP inside an IFERROR, for instance — press F9, and Excel shows you what that fragment evaluates to. Press Esc afterwards so the formula returns to its original text rather than the hard-coded value.
Tip: Pressing F9 with no cell in edit mode recalculates the whole workbook. That is the fix when a sheet is set to manual calculation and your numbers have stopped updating.
6. Use the Alt Key to Reach the Whole Ribbon
There is no shortcut to memorise for most ribbon commands, and there does not need to be. Excel will show you the keys.
- Press and release Alt. Small letter badges called KeyTips appear over every ribbon tab and over the Quick Access Toolbar above them.
- Press the letter for the tab you want: H for Home, N for Insert, P for Page Layout, M for Formulas, A for Data, R for Review, W for View.
- New badges appear over every command on that tab. Press the letters shown, one after another. You do not hold them down — this is a sequence, not a combination.
- Press Esc to step back one level, or press Alt again to clear the badges entirely.
Common sequences worth writing on a sticky note:
| Sequence | What it does |
|---|---|
| Alt, H, O, I | AutoFit column width |
| Alt, H, V, V | Paste values only |
| Alt, H, B, A | Apply all borders to the selection |
| Alt, A, S, S | Open the Sort dialog |
| Alt, W, F, F | Freeze panes at the active cell |
| Alt, N, V | Insert a PivotTable |
Tip: Right-click any ribbon button and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar. It picks up the next free number, so a command you use hourly becomes Alt + 1 or Alt + 2 — two keys, permanently. Alt, W, F, F is a good candidate; see How to Freeze Panes and Split Views in Excel for what it does to a long sheet.
Note: In Excel for the web, the browser claims the Alt key for its own menu. Press Alt + Windows key together to bring up the KeyTips, then continue with the tab letter as normal.
7. Mac Equivalents
Most Ctrl shortcuts become Command on a Mac, and the function keys need Fn unless you change one system setting. These are the ones that do not follow the pattern.
| Windows | Excel for Mac |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V / Ctrl + Z | Command + C / Command + V / Command + Z |
| Ctrl + 1 (Format Cells) | Command + 1 |
| Ctrl + Arrow | Command + Arrow, and Control + Arrow in current builds |
| Ctrl + Home / Ctrl + End | Control + Fn + Left Arrow / Control + Fn + Right Arrow |
| Alt + Enter (line break in a cell) | Control + Option + Return |
| Ctrl + Enter (fill the selection) | Control + Return |
| Ctrl + ; (today's date) | Control + ; — unchanged |
| Ctrl + Shift + ; (current time) | Command + ; |
| F2 (edit the cell) | Control + U |
| F4 (cycle absolute references) | Command + T |
| Alt + = (AutoSum) | Command + Shift + T |
| Ctrl + Page Down / Ctrl + Page Up | Option + Right Arrow / Option + Left Arrow |
| Alt for ribbon KeyTips | Not available. Press Control + F2 to move focus to the menu bar, then navigate with the arrow keys |
Tip: To press F2 and F4 without holding Fn, open System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Function Keys and turn on Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.
Troubleshooting
TIP
Excel tells you the shortcut for almost any ribbon button. Hover the pointer over the button and hold still for a second — the tooltip that appears names the command and shows its key combination in parentheses underneath.
| Symptom / Error | Potential Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| A function key does nothing | Laptop treats F-keys as media keys | Hold Fn together with the F-key. On most Windows laptops, Fn + Esc locks the F-keys into standard behaviour so you stop holding Fn. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 0 does not unhide columns | A Windows keyboard-layout shortcut intercepts it | Select the columns on either side of the hidden ones, then use Home > Format > Hide & Unhide > Unhide Columns. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Arrow selects the wrong amount | Blank cells inside the data block | The selection stops at the first gap. Starting from a cell that is already blank, it runs all the way to the end of the sheet. Fill the gaps, or select the exact range by pressing Ctrl + G and typing a reference such as A2:F900. |
| Pressing Alt opens the browser menu | Working in Excel for the web | Press Alt + Windows key to bring up the KeyTips in the browser, then press the tab letter. |
| A shortcut types a character into the cell | The cell is in edit mode | Press Esc to leave edit mode, then use the shortcut. Shortcuts that act on a whole cell do nothing while the cursor is inside it. |
| Ctrl + ; inserts a date in the wrong format | Windows regional format, not Excel | The value is correct; only the display differs. Press Ctrl + 1, pick the date format you want, or change the format in Settings > Time & language > Language & region. |
Related Articles
- How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Work Faster in Windows and Microsoft 365
- Understanding Absolute and Relative Cell References in Excel
- How to Freeze Panes and Split Views in Excel
- How to Sort and Filter Data in Excel
- How to Format Data as a Table in Excel
- Understanding Excel Features — A Quick-Reference Guide to What Excel Can Do