30 Most Useful Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft Excel

Excel can pose a challenge for some professionals, and if you work heavily with workbooks, you understand how frustrating it can be to get started. We decided to find the 30 most useful keyboard shortcuts for Excel to kickstart your productivity and make your job a bit easier.

We have listed both Mac and Windows versions of each shortcut if they differ between operating systems. Shortcuts can be created and altered on most Mac computers. If you need help creating Excel shortcuts on your Mac, visit our How to Autofit in Excel blog for instructions.

Let's jump in!

1. To edit a cell F2
   1. Mac: Control + U
2. To copy and paste cells Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V
   1. Mac: Command + C and Command + V
3. To italicize and make the font bold Ctrl + I, Ctrl + B
   1. Mac: Command + I and Command + B
4. To center align cell contents: Alt + H + A + C
   1. Mac: Command + E
5. Align left Alt + H, A, L
   1. Mac: Command + R (you must be in edit mode, meaning clicked into the cell or select multiple cells)
6. Align right Alt + H, A, R
   1. Mac: Command + L (you must be in edit mode, meaning clicked into the cell or select multiple cells)
7. To fill color: Alt + H + H
8. To add a border: Alt + H + B
   1. Mac: Command + Option + 0
9. To remove outline border: Ctrl + Shift + _
   1. Mac: Command + Option + _
10. To Strikethrough: Ctrl + 5 (same keyboard buttons for both Windows and Mac users)
11. To select the entire column: Ctrl + Space (same keyboard buttons for both Windows and Mac users)
12. To delete a column: Alt+H+D+C
    1. Mac: Control + -
13. To group rows or columns: Alt + Shift + Right arrow
    1. Mac: Command + Shift + K
14. To ungroup rows or columns: Alt + Shift + Left arrow
    1. Mac: Control + Shift + J
15. Insert Date: Ctrl +
    1. Mac: Control + Shift +:
16. Insert Time: Ctrl +:
    1. Mac: Control + Shift +:
17. Insert Chart: Alt + F1
18. Save As: F12
    1. Mac: Command + ⇧ + Shift + S
19. Select all cells in column: Ctrl + Shift + ↓ (same keyboard buttons for both Windows and Mac users)
20. Duplicate Object: Control + D (same keyboard buttons for both Windows and Mac users)
21. Go to next workbook Ctrl + Tab
    1. Mac: Command + ` (accent grave)
22. Go to previous workbook Ctrl + Shift + Tab
    1. Mac: Command + shift + ` (accent grave)
23. Protect sheet Alt + R, P, S
24. Move one-word right Ctrl + →
    1. Mac: ^ + →
25. Move one word left Ctrl + ←
    1. Mac: ^ + ←
26. Copy formula from cell above (formula is exact copy) Ctrl + '
27. Wrap text Alt + H, W
28. Delete to end of line: CTRL Delete
    1. Mac: ^ + Delete
29. Close a workbook: Ctrl-W
    1. Mac: Command + W
30. Cancel Entry: Esc (same keyboard buttons for both Windows and Mac users)

Still, looking for more Excel tips? Head to our blog for more instructional articles, or you can visit our webinar page to see our schedule of upcoming events.

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