Excel Keyboard Shortcuts: 50 Best Shortcuts + Printable Cheat Sheet

Start with these

Below are the 50 Excel shortcuts we think are worth learning, grouped by task and ranked from essential to power user. Start with the essentials, then add a few time-savers each week.

Ctrl+N

Create a new workbook

Ctrl+O

Open a workbook

Ctrl+S

Save the workbook

Ctrl+P

Print the workbook

Ctrl+Z

Undo the last action

Ctrl+Y

Redo or repeat the last action

Ctrl+F

Find content in the worksheet

F2

Edit the active cell

Basics

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`Ctrl`+`N`	Create a new workbook	Essential
`Ctrl`+`O`	Open a workbook	Essential
`Ctrl`+`S`	Save the workbook	Essential
`Ctrl`+`P`	Print the workbook	Essential
`Shift`+`F11`	Insert a new worksheet	Time-saver

Edit

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`Ctrl`+`Z`	Undo the last action	Essential
`Ctrl`+`Y`	Redo or repeat the last action	Essential
`Ctrl`+`F`	Find content in the worksheet	Essential
`Ctrl`+`H`	Replace content in the worksheet	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Plus`	Insert blank cells, rows, or columns (Ctrl+Shift+Plus on the main keyboard)	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Minus`	Delete the selected cells, rows, or columns	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`D`	Fill down from the cell above	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`R`	Fill right from the cell to the left	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`V`	Open Paste Special (e.g. paste values only)	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`E`	Fill in data automatically with Flash Fill	Time-saver

Data entry

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`F2`	Edit the active cell	Essential
`Ctrl`+`;`	Insert the current date	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`:`	Insert the current time	Time-saver
`Alt`+`Enter`	Start a new line within the same cell	Essential

Format

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`Ctrl`+`1`	Open the Format Cells dialog	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`B`	Apply or remove bold formatting	Essential
`Ctrl`+`I`	Apply or remove italic formatting	Essential
`Ctrl`+`U`	Apply or remove underline formatting	Essential
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`~`	Apply the General number format	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`&`	Apply an outline border to selected cells	Power user
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`_`	Remove all borders from selected cells	Time-saver

Data

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`L`	Toggle filters for the current range	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`9`	Hide selected rows	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`9`	Unhide rows in selection	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`0`	Hide selected columns	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`0`	Unhide columns in selection (may be blocked by the Windows language-switch hotkey)	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`T`	Create a table from the selected range	Time-saver

Formulas

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`Alt`+`=`	Insert AutoSum	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`	Show or hide formulas	Power user
`F4`	Repeat the last command or cycle reference types in a formula	Power user
`F9`	Calculate all worksheets in all open workbooks	Power user
`Shift`+`F9`	Calculate the active worksheet only	Power user
`F3`	Paste a defined name into a formula	Power user
`Alt`then`M`then`M`then`D`	Define a name to use in formulas	Power user
`Ctrl`+`'`	Copy the formula from the cell above	Time-saver

Navigate

Shortcut	What it does	Level
`Ctrl`+`Arrow key`	Move to the edge of the current data region	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Home`	Move to the beginning of the worksheet	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`End`	Move to the last used cell	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Page Up`or`Ctrl`+`Page Down`	Move between worksheets	Time-saver
`Tab`	Move to the next cell	Essential
`Shift`+`Tab`	Move to the previous cell	Essential

Select

Shortcut	What it does	Level	Link
`Shift`+`Spacebar`	Select the entire row	Time-saver
`Ctrl`+`Spacebar`	Select the entire column	Time-saver

Insert

Shortcut	What it does	Level	Link
`F11`	Create a chart on a new sheet	Power user
`Alt`+`F1`	Insert a chart on the current sheet	Power user

Pro tip: Press Alt on its own to reveal KeyTips: letters appear over every ribbon command, so you can reach almost anything in Excel from the keyboard, even features without a dedicated shortcut.

Excel how-to guides

Step-by-step answers to common Excel questions.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most useful Excel shortcuts?

Start with these essentials: Ctrl+N (create a new workbook); Ctrl+O (open a workbook); Ctrl+S (save the workbook); Ctrl+P (print the workbook); Ctrl+Z (undo the last action).

What is the most useful Excel shortcut?

For most people it's Ctrl+Arrow key, which jumps to the edge of your data. Combine it with Shift (Ctrl+Shift+Arrow) to select a whole block of data in one move, however big it is.

Why doesn't F4 work in Excel on my laptop?

Many laptops map the top row to media keys. Hold the Fn key (Fn+F4), or turn on Fn Lock (often Fn+Esc) so the F-keys behave as function keys by default.

Do these Excel shortcuts work on a Mac?

This list shows Windows shortcuts. On a Mac, Ctrl is usually replaced by Cmd and Alt by Option, though some shortcuts differ. On our homepage you can switch the keyboard layout to Mac to see the Mac versions.

Can I print this Excel cheat sheet?

Yes. Use the Print cheat sheet button at the top of this page to print a compact version, or save it as a PDF. It's free to share with your team.

Make them stick

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Start with these

Basics

Edit

Data entry

Format

Data

Formulas

Navigate

Select

Insert

Excel how-to guides

Frequently asked questions

Make them stick

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More Microsoft 365 shortcuts