65 Shortcut Keys in Excel [Free PDF Download]
Just knowing how to use Excel is not enough. There are a bunch of shortcut keys that you can use in Microsoft Excel to ensure smooth workflow and enhanced productivity. In this article, you will get to know about 65 shortcut keys in Excel with pdf that will make your life super easy.
Download 65 Excel Shortcut Keys PDF
Excel Shortcut Keys List
Microsoft Excel offers a ton of keyboard shortcut keys to work seamlessly. We have tried to categorize the most useful shortcut keys available in Excel into 3 major categories. They are,
- Common Excel Shortcut Keys
- Basic Shortcut Keys in Excel
- Advanced Excel Shortcuts
We have prepared pdf files for each of the categories that you can download for free.
So without having any further discussion, let’s learn them all one by one.
Common Excel Shortcut Keys
| Serial No. | Shortcut Keys | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ctrl + C | Copies the content of a selected cell. |
| 2. | Ctrl + V | Pastes contents from the clipboard. |
| 3. | Ctrl + X | Cuts and copies the contents of a selected cell. |
| 4. | Ctrl + A | Selects all the cells in a workbook. |
| 5. | Ctrl + F | Opens the Find dialog box. |
| 6. | Ctrl + G | Opens the Go To dialog box. |
| 7. | Ctrl + H | Opens the Find and Replace dialog box. |
| 8. | Ctrl + K | Inserts a hyperlink in a selected text. |
| 9. | Ctrl + L | Opens the Create Table dialog box. |
| 10. | Ctrl + P | Avails the Print window to print a worksheet. |
| 11. | Ctrl + W | Closes the current workbook. |
| 12. | Ctrl + Z | Reverses the last action. |
| 13. | Ctrl + 1 | Opens the Format Cells dialog box. |
| 14. | Ctrl + – | Deletes the selected columns or rows. |
| 15. | Ctrl + Space | Selects an entire column. |
| 15. | Shift + Space | Selects an entire row. |
| 16. | Ctrl + Home | Redirects to cell A1. |
| 17. | Alt | Displays the access keys. |
| 18. | Tab | Moves to the next cell. |
| 19. | F2 | Enables editing a cell. |
| 20. | Esc | Cancels out an entry. |
| 21. | Enter | Executes an entry in a cell and moves to the next cell. |
| 22. | Alt + Enter | Starts a new line in the current cell. |
| 23. | F1 | Opens the Microsoft Excel help. |
| 24. | Ctrl + F4 | Closes Microsoft Excel. |
| 25. | Alt +F8 | Opens the Macro window. |
Basic Shortcut Keys in Excel [Chart]
| Serial No. | Shortcut Keys | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ctrl + N | Creates a new Excel Workbook. |
| 2. | Ctrl + O | Opens an existing workbook. |
| 3. | Ctrl + S | Saves a workbook. |
| 4. | Ctrl + A | Selects all the cells in the opened workbook. |
| 5. | Ctrl + B | Makes the contents bold of a selected cell. |
| 6. | Ctrl + C | Copies the contents of a selected cell. |
| 7. | Ctrl + D | Fills up a selected cell with the contents of its upper cell. |
| 8. | Ctrl + F | Opens up the Find dialog box to search for anything inside the current workbook. |
| 9. | Ctrl + G | Opens up the Go To dialog box. |
| 10. | Ctrl + H | Opens up the Find and Replace dialog box. |
| 11. | Ctrl + I | Italicizes your text. |
| 12. | Ctrl + K | Inserts hyperlink within a text. |
| 13. | Ctrl + L | Opens up the Create Table dialog box. |
| 14. | Ctrl + P | Brings up the Print window to print a workbook. |
| 15. | Ctrl + R | Fills up the selected cells with the contents of the left cell. |
| 15. | Ctrl + U | Adds up an underline to the selected text. |
| 16. | Ctrl + V | Pastes your copied data from the clipboard. |
| 17. | Ctrl + W | Closes down a running workbook. |
| 18. | Ctrl + – | Deletes a selected row or column. |
| 19. | Ctrl + Z | Reverses the last action. |
| 20. | Ctrl + 1 | Opens up the Format Cells dialog box. |
Advanced Excel Shortcuts
| Serial No. | Shortcut Keys | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ctrl + Shift + : | Inserts the current time into a cell. |
| 2. | Ctrl + ; | Inserts the current date into a cell. |
| 3. | Ctrl + ` | Displays the formula used in a cell. |
| 4. | Ctrl + Shift + = | Inserts extra columns or rows. |
| 5. | Ctrl + Shift + ~ | Switches between displaying formulas used in a cell and the cell value. |
| 6. | Ctrl + Shift + @ | Applies time formatting. |
| 7. | Ctrl + Shift + # | Applies date formatting. |
| 8. | Ctrl + Shift + % | Applies percentage formatting. |
| 9. | Ctrl + Shift + & | Applies borders around the selected cell. |
| 10. | Ctrl + Shift + _ | Removes the border from the selected cell. |
| 11. | Ctrl + Spacebar | Highlights an entire column. |
| 12. | Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar | Selects an entire workbook. |
| 13. | Ctrl + Home | Navigates back to cell A1. |
| 14. | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Jumps into the previous workbook. |
| 15. | Ctrl + Up arrow | Jumps into the top-most cell in a selected column. |
| 15. | Ctrl + Down arrow | Jumps into the last cell in a selected column. |
| 16. | Ctrl + Right arrow | Jumps into the last cell in a selected row. |
| 17. | Ctrl + Left arrow | Jumps into the first cell in a selected row. |
| 18. | Ctrl + End | Navigates to the last cell in a workbook. |
| 19. | Ctrl + F1 | Expands and collapses the main ribbon. |
| 20. | Shift + Space | Selects an entire row. |
Excel Shortcut Keys Not Working
In some cases, a certain shortcut key may not work on your computer.
In the following section, we are going to discuss the most common 5 possible reasons for it. If none of the following solutions work for you, then there are possibilities that you have a hardware issue with your computer keyboard.
So let’s get started.
1. Alter the functions of the F1 to F12 Keys
From F1 to F12 keys, they perform various functions in Microsoft Excel. For example, the F2 key enables editing a particular cell, and F9 calculates the values of the formula or part of a formula.
On most recent computers, especially laptops, these keys are used as media keys such as to increase/decrease volume, increase/decrease brightness, mute, etc.
In this case, pressing any key from F1 to F12 may trigger these media functionalities rather than performing a specific task on MS Excel.
If the scenario is so, Excel shortcut keys might not work. To solve this problem, you can try any of the following solutions.
Solutions:
- Press the Fn key before any of the keys from F1 to F12. For example, if pressing only the F2 key doesn’t enable editing a cell then press Fn + F2. This will work properly.
- Lock your media keys. Find the command for locking up your media keys or you can simply google it. For example, Fn + Esc locks up the media keys in some keyboards.
- Alter your media keys. To do that, restart your computer and go to the BIOS settings. There you will find options to alter your media keys with some other keys.
2. Modify Language Bar Settings
Using multiple language inputs can grasp some of the keys from your keyboard. All you need to do is, alter the keys for the Language Bar Settings. This is how you can free some of the keys that you have already been using as Excel shortcut keys.
3. Find the Shortcuts for Your Own Keyboard Layout
All the shortcuts discussed in this article, are based on the Standard US Keyboard Layout.
If you are using a different keyboard layout, such as Dutch, French, or any other non-English keyboard layout, then the shortcut keys may differ.
4. Windows and Mac Keyboard Shortcut Keys are not the Same
All the keyboard shortcut keys discussed in this article are only applicable to the Windows operating system. If you are a Mac user, the keyboard shortcuts will definitely be different.
In general, the CTRL key on Windows is replaced by a CMD key on a Mac. For example, to copy text, CTRL + C is used on Windows. Whereas on a Mac computer, the shortcut key to copy a text is CMD + C.
5. Check Program Trolls
Some programs out of your all-installed programs can take over some of your shortcut keys. These programs are known as Program Trolls.
For example, Lightshot is a program to take screenshots. This program automatically grasps the PtrScr key on the keyboard as a shortcut key.
If you have a program troll, such as Lightshot, some of your Excel shortcut keys might be already taken away. As a result, they may not work as you press them.
Conclusion
The more you get used to the Excel shortcut keys, the more you can work smoothly in Microsoft Excel. To get you the most useful Excel shortcut keys, we have discussed 65 Excel keyboard shortcut keys throughout the article. You are recommended to practice them all and also encouraged to use them frequently. You can visit our website Excelgraduate to get more articles on Microsoft Excel.
