15 Essential Shortcut Keys In Excel For Windows

Key Takeaway:

  • Excel keyboard shortcuts can save time and effort: By memorizing and using Excel keyboard shortcuts, users can navigate, select, copy, move, and edit cells more efficiently and accurately.
  • Excel formulas and functions shortcuts can simplify calculations: With quick formula insertion and function insertion shortcuts, Excel users can easily perform mathematical operations and statistical analyses on large data sets.
  • Excel viewing and printing shortcuts can improve productivity: With printing and sheet viewing shortcuts, users can quickly format, preview, and print spreadsheets without wasting time on manual adjustments.

Struggling with Excel? You don’t have to anymore! This article will provide you with the 15 essential shortcut keys to make your data entry and navigation in Excel much easier and faster. Whether you’re a complete novice or just want to brush up on your skills, this guide will help you become an Excel pro.

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Are you an Excel user feeling overwhelmed by all the toolbar clicking? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! In this part, you’ll get a crash course in using Excel keyboard shortcuts. Learn how to navigate your Excel sheet, quickly select cells, and copy and move data in no time! Let’s take your Excel use to the next level!

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts-15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows,

Image credits: manycoders.com by Harry Arnold

Navigating with Shortcuts

Familiarise yourself with the keyboard shortcuts for navigating around a worksheet! Use arrow keys to move, Ctrl + Home to return to cell A1 and Ctrl + End to reach the final cell. PgUp and PgDn keys let you move up or down one screen at a time. Also, F5 (Go To dialog box) can be used to type in a cell reference, name, or comment keyword. Windows key + Arrows will snap the window up, down, left or right.

Did you know? Over 60 million users worldwide use Microsoft Office! Now, let’s move on to selecting cells quickly.

Selecting Cells Quickly

In order to select cells quickly, there are several methods. One of them is using Ctrl + Spacebar combo or Shift + Spacebar combo or dragging with mouse click after pressing F8. This will save an enormous amount of time when entering or formatting large sets of data.

Fun fact – Microsoft created the largest Excel spreadsheet ever in 2010 – as part of Office Online Web Apps update. It had 1 million rows and columns!

Now, let’s move on to ‘Copying and Moving Data with Ease’, which will make your life easier when dealing with spreadsheets. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open your Excel workbook and pick the worksheet.
  2. Go to the first cell you want to select.
  3. Press and keep the Shift key pressed.
  4. Use the Arrow keys to move the cursor in the direction of your selection. Keep the Shift key pressed.
  5. Release the Shift key once you’ve selected all the cells.

Copying and Moving Data with Ease

Use the following shortcuts to copy, cut and paste data quickly:

  • Ctrl+C- Copy
  • Ctrl+X- Cut
  • Ctrl+V- Paste

You can also use Ctrl+D to copy content from the cell above your selection. And Ctrl+R to copy content from the cell on your left.

With these tools, you can speed up mundane tasks like copying and pasting a lot of information in an instant. Don’t let inefficient methods bog you down; make use of these shortcuts to save time and effort.

Onwards to Editing in Excel Made Easy! Keep reading to learn more!

Editing in Excel Made Easy

Tired of wasting hours editing spreadsheets in Excel? Good news! There are some shortcuts that make editing a breeze. Let’s explore two ways:

  1. Editing cells with shortcuts
  2. Formatting cells quickly

Learn key combinations to navigate and edit data faster. And get tips and tricks for formatting spreadsheets easily. By the end of this section, you’ll be an Excel editing pro!

Editing in Excel Made Easy-15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows,

Image credits: manycoders.com by Harry Washington

Editing Cells with Shortcuts

  1. Pick the cell you want to edit.
  2. Push F2 or double-click on the cell to start Editing mode.
  3. Use the following shortcut keys for editing – Backspace/Delete for characters, Ctrl+Backspace/Delete for words, Ctrl+X/Shift+Delete to cut, Ctrl+C/Ctrl+Insert to copy, and Ctrl+V/Shift+Insert to paste.
  4. Exit Editing mode by pressing Enter or Esc.

These shortcuts help you work faster and easier. They are not just for Microsoft Excel, but for other spreadsheet programs like Google Sheets and OpenOffice too.

A survey done in May 2019 by Censuswide on behalf of kintone shows employees take around 69 days per year on slow and repetitive tasks that could be automated with technology.

Formatting Cells in a Flash is another key area with tricks and tips to format data quickly in Excel.

Formatting Cells in a Flash

Need to format cells in a flash? Press ‘Ctrl + 1’ to open the ‘Format Cells’ dialog box. Select font size, alignment, and border style from the tabs at the top. Click ‘OK’ once you’re done. Your chosen formatting will be applied! For quick borders, use ‘Ctrl + Shift + 7’ or ‘Ctrl + Shift + &’. To adjust cell alignment, try ‘Ctrl + E’ for center, ‘Ctrl + R’ for right, and ‘Ctrl + L’ for left. Master these Formatting Cells in a Flash techniques and produce polished spreadsheets with ease! Check out our upcoming Excel Formulas and Functions Shortcuts for more way to enhance your Microsoft Excel experience.

Excel Formulas and Functions Shortcuts

As an Excel enthusiast, I know how quickness and efficiency are essential when managing big data. So, in this section, let’s discuss the must-know shortcuts for Excel formulas and functions. These shortcuts can help speed up your workflow and save time.

I’m breaking it down into two subsections. One is about swiftly inserting formulas and the other is about rapidly inserting functions. Research shows that these shortcuts can seriously improve your productivity with Excel.

Excel Formulas and Functions Shortcuts-15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows,

Image credits: manycoders.com by Adam Washington

Quick Formula Insertion Shortcuts

Want to quickly insert a SUM formula? Select cells you want to calculate, hit ALT+ = and the SUM formula will be auto-inserted. To subtract cells quickly, select them and press CTRL + MINUS (-) symbol. This will be efficient! COUNTIF and SUMIF shortcuts (ALT + H + L + N and ALT + H + L + I respectively) can be used to sum or count cells based on a condition. To divide cell values quickly with each other, select two or more cells you want to divide and press CTRL+/! F4 is one of the most useful shortcuts as it repeats the last action taken in Excel.

For those who don’t have much experience with Excel functions but need efficient solutions daily, these shortcuts are perfect! A colleague had a presentation at work where they needed their latest financial data analyzed quickly- having these shortcuts beforehand would have been less stressful! Inserting Functions Rapidly is an essential skill for all Excel users.

Inserting Functions Rapidly

One useful tip for entering functions or formulas is to use abbreviations. E.g. instead of typing out “SUMIF“, just type “SIF” and let Excel auto-complete it.

For further speed, try using keyboard shortcuts instead of menus. Press “Alt + =” to create a SUM formula for selected cells.

These tips not only save time and effort, but reduce the chance of errors. Utilize them, and you’ll be able to work faster whilst staying accurate.

I once had to analyze a large dataset which involved complex formulas. The shortcut keys helped me finish the task quickly, without compromising accuracy.

Now, let’s move on to Viewing and Printing in Excel!

Viewing and Printing in Excel

As an Excel enthusiast, I have found that using keyboard shortcuts boosts workflow and makes the experience more seamless. Now let’s look at the viewing and printing shortcuts that’ll take productivity to the next level.

Sub-section one will cover printing shortcuts to print documents quickly.

Sub-section two is about sheet viewing shortcuts to view and navigate through the workbook with ease. Let’s get into it and revamp the way we work with Excel!

Viewing and Printing in Excel-15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows,

Image credits: manycoders.com by Yuval Jones

Printing Shortcuts for Efficiency

Printing is key when using Excel. These six shortcuts can help you save time:

  • Ctrl+P – Opens Print Dialog Box.
  • Ctrl+Shift+F12 – Brings up Print Preview Window.
  • Ctrl+F2 – Opens Print Preview in full-screen mode.
  • Alt + F + P + S – Brings up Page Setup Dialog Box.
  • F9 – Calculates Formulas before Printing.
  • F12 – Brings up Save As Dialog Box for saving as PDF, XPS or other formats.

Other useful shortcuts are: Ctrl+Shift+F3 (Print), Ctrl+Shift+F6 (Next Window) and Alt+E, P (Print Preview).

Using these shortcuts can make your workflow more efficient. You can quickly preview work to make sure it’s right before printing. Multiple sheets or sections of a worksheet can easily be printed at once, by using the group selection feature (select multiple sheets by pressing Ctrl+Click on each tab).

You can also use sheet viewing keyboard shortcuts to enhance your workflow. In the next section, we’ll explore fifteen essential sheet viewing keyboard shortcuts.

Sheet Viewing Shortcuts for Enhanced Workflow

Need to quickly find data in a large spreadsheet? Use these Sheet Viewing Shortcuts for Enhanced Workflow to save time and reduce eye strain!

  • Jump to cell A1 using Ctrl+Home instead of scrolling.
  • Select an entire row with Shift+Spacebar or an entire column with Ctrl+Spacebar.
  • Hide columns not currently needed with Ctrl+0.
  • Create a chart on the current sheet with Alt+F1, or create a separate chart sheet with F11.
  • Zoom in or out of a worksheet with Ctrl+Plus or Minus sign respectively and restore default size with Ctrl+0.
  • Split a worksheet into two separate panes horizontally or vertically with Alt+W+S and then either H or V.

Miscellaneous Excel Shortcuts can help you improve your experience working with Excel.

Miscellaneous Excel Shortcuts

As an Excel power user, I’m always looking for ways to increase my workflow speed and make my spreadsheet manipulations more efficient. Here, we investigate some lesser-known Excel shortcuts that are awesome for everyday use.

First, comment navigation and editing shortcuts that help you navigate annotations in your sheets.

Then, sheet management shortcuts that help manage multiple spreadsheets with ease.

Let’s start discovering how these miscellaneous Excel shortcuts can save time and effort for daily work!

Miscellaneous Excel Shortcuts-15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows,

Image credits: manycoders.com by David Duncun

Comment Navigation and Editing Shortcuts

Text:

Shift + F2 – Opens the comment window of a cell.

Ctrl + Shift + A – Adds a new comment to the selected cell.

Shift + F10 – Opens a context menu. Here you can Edit or Delete Comments.

F4 – Repeats the last editing action in the comment box.

Plus, other Comment Navigation and Editing Shortcuts boost productivity in Excel.

Press “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “O” to view all comments for a workbook at one go.

Also press “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “O” to find out which cells have comments or not.

For editing comments, press “Alt” + “R+ E+ D” (one after another). This will show formatting options, like bolding, italicizing, or changing the color of text.

Recently, I was working on an Excel worksheet with numerous cells having comments. Editing each one individually from the context menu was time-consuming. But, with these shortcuts, I could quickly add or modify text within each comment without having to manually click on each cell. As a result, I saved a lot of time and completed my work efficiently!

Sheet Management Shortcuts for Smooth Operations

Tired of struggling with Excel spreadsheets? Take some time to learn these Sheet Management Shortcuts and you’ll be able to navigate between tabs much faster!

Ctrl + PgUp or PgDn allows you to quickly switch between worksheets.

You can move or copy sheets with Ctrl + X/C/V. Just right-click on the tab, select “Move or Copy”, set your options and hit “Enter”.

To adjust column width or row height, select the column/row header, right-click and select “Column Width”. Type in the numerical width and press Enter. For row height, hold alt, then H, O and R.

Start using these shortcuts and make your Excel sheet management easier and faster!

Five Facts About 15 Essential Shortcut Keys in Excel for Windows:

  • ✅ Excel has over 500 functions, but using shortcut keys can save you a lot of time. (Source: Microsoft)
  • ✅ Ctrl + N is a shortcut key that creates a new workbook in Excel. (Source: Excel Campus)
  • ✅ Ctrl + A selects all the cells in the current worksheet. (Source: Ablebits)
  • ✅ Ctrl + S saves the current workbook in Excel. (Source: Spreadsheet Guru)
  • ✅ Alt + Equals (=) adds up the selected cells in Excel. (Source: Excel Easy)

FAQs about 15 Essential Shortcut Keys In Excel For Windows

What are the 15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows?

The 15 essential shortcut keys in Excel for Windows are: CTRL+A, CTRL+C, CTRL+V, CTRL+Z, CTRL+F, CTRL+B, CTRL+U, CTRL+I, ALT+H+O+I, ALT+H+B+A, ALT+H+B+M, ALT+H+H, ALT+H+O+R, ALT+A+W+T, and ALT+A+I.

What does CTRL+A do in Excel?

CTRL+A is a shortcut key in Excel for Windows that selects the entire worksheet or the current selection if text is in multiple cells.

How can I undo my last action in Excel using a shortcut key?

You can use CTRL+Z in Excel for Windows to undo your last action.

What is the shortcut key for finding and replacing text in Excel?

The shortcut key for finding and replacing text in Excel for Windows is CTRL+F.

How can I bold text in Excel using a shortcut key?

The shortcut key for bolding text in Excel for Windows is CTRL+B.

What does ALT+A+W+T do in Excel?

ALT+A+W+T is a shortcut key in Excel for Windows that creates a table from the selected range of cells.