Excel Shortcuts: Master List

Shortcuts for Basic Excel Workflow

Action	Shortcut	Description
Save	CTRL + S	Highlights all data
Highlight All	CTRL + A	Highlights all data
Copy	CTRL + C	Copies selected cell or range of cells
Cut	CTRL + X	Cuts selected cell or range of cells
Paste	CTRL + V	Pastes cell or range of cells
Paste values	ALT + H + V + V	Pastes only the values from a range of cells (excludes formulas, formatting, etc.
Undo	CTRL + Z	Deletes the data you have selected and allows you to edit the cell you have selected
Redo	CTRL + Y	Deletes the data you have selected and allows you to edit the cell you have selected
Search	ALT + Q	Allows you to search for a specific functionality inside of Excel.

Shortcuts for Movement Inside a Spreadsheet

Action	Shortcut	Description
Move down	ENTER	Move one cell downwards, or if editing a cell, finish editing current cell and move downwards.
Move right	TAB	Move one cell to the right, or if editing a cell, finish editing current cell and move rightwards.
Move to edge	CTRL + ARROW KEY	Moves selected cell until the first whitespace or until the end of the worksheet.
Select column	CTRL + HOME	Selects entire column.
Highlight to edge	CTRL + SHIFT + ARROW KEY	Highlights cells until the first whitespace or until the end of the worksheet.
Select row	SHIFT + SPACE	Selects entire row.
Select column	CTRL + SPACE	Selects entire column.

Shortcuts for Editing a Cell’s Contents

Action	Shortcut	Description
Edit cell	F2	Edit the cell you have selected
Delete	DELETE	Deletes the data that you have selected
Delete and Edit	BACKSPACE	Delete the contents of the selected cell and begin editing.
Lock cell reference	F4	When editing a cell reference, pressing F4 once will create an absolute cell reference. Press it a second time, yoy get a mixed reference with the locked row. Press it a third time, you will get a mixed reference with a locked column. Press it a fourth time, and your cell reference will return to being a relative reference.
Cancel cell edits	ESC	Deletes the edits to your current cell and reverts the contents back to it original state.
Finish editing but stay on cell	CTRL + ENTER	Finishes editing the current cell but keeps your cursor on that cell.
Insert datestamp	CTRL + :	Inserts datestamp into the cell you are editing.
Insert timestamp	CTRL + SHIFT + :	Inserts timestamp into the cell you are editing.
AutoSum	ALT + =	Automatically sums data adjacent to your cell.
AutoSum to Count Numbers (COUNT)	ALT + M + U + C	Automatically COUNT data adjacent to your cell.
AutoSum to Average Numbers (AVERAGE)	ALT + M + U + A	Automatically AVERAGE data adjacent to your cell.
AutoSum to find the Min value (MIN)	ALT + M + U + I	Automatically find the MIN of the data adjacent to your cell.
AutoSum to find the Max Value (MAX)	ALT + M + U + M	Automatically find the MIN of the data adjacent to your cell.
View result of logical test	`F9`	When you highlight a logical test inside of a logical function, Excel will display what the result of the expression.

Formatting Shortcuts in Microsoft Excel

Action	Shortcut	Description
Ribbon access key	ALT	Access ribbon functionalities using hotkeys.
Bold	CTRL + B	Bold the selected data.
Italic	CTRL + I	Italicize the selected data.
Bold	CTRL + U	Underline the selected data.
Delete cell / row / column	CTRL + –	Access ribbon functionalities using hotkeys.
Insert cell / row / column	CTRL + SHIFT + +	Access ribbon functionalities using hotkeys.
Hide column	CTRL + 0	Hides selected column.
Hide row	CTRL + 9	Hides selected row.
Change font size	ALT + H + F + S	Opens the Excel dialogue to change the font size.
Merge and Center	ALT + H + M + C	Merges and centers the contents across the selected cells.
Unmerge	ALT + H + M + U	Unmerges the selected cells.
Autofit column width	ALT + H + O + I	Autofits the column width of each column based on cell contents.
Autofit row height	ALT + H + O + A	Autofits the row height of each row based on cell contents.
Set column width	ALT + H + O + W	Opens dialogue that allows you to hardcode column width.
Set row height	ALT + H + O + H	Opens dialogue that allows you to hardcode row height.
Top align	ALT + H + A + T	Align text to the top of the cell.
Middle align	ALT + H + A + M	Align text to the middle of the cell.
Bottom align	ALT + H + A + B	Align text to the bottom of the cell.
Left align	ALT + H + A + L	Align text to the left of the cell.
Center align	ALT + H + A + C	Align text to the center of the cell.
Right align	ALT + H + A + R	Align text to the right of the cell.
Bottom border	ALT + H + B + O	Insert border on the bottom of the selected cell.
Top border	ALT + H + B + P	Insert border at the top of the selected cell.
Insert hyperlink	CTRL + K	Insert hyperlink on selected cell.
Format as percentage	ALT + H + P	Format selected cell as a percentage.

Filtering, Sorting, and Freezing Shortcuts in Excel

Action	Shortcut	Description
Freeze top row	ALT + W + F + R	Freezes the top row of your Excel worksheet.
Unfreeze panes	ALT + W + F + F	Unfreezes all of the panes, rows, or columns in your worksheet.
Freeze panes	ALT + W + F + F	Freezes everything above and to the left of your cursor. If you highlight a row and use this shortcut, it will freeze all of the rows above your highlighted row. If you highlight a column and use this shortcut, it will freeze all of the columns to the left of your highlighted column.
Insert filters	CTRL + SHIFT + L	Inserts filters onto the data in your Excel workbook.
Sort by a custom list	ALT + H + S + U	Opens the dialogue that allows you to specify a “custom” sort where you can define the order that records appear.
Select item in filter	SPACE or ENTER	Selects the action or item while navigating through a filter.
Open filter	ALT + ↓	Opens the filter in the column that you are hovering.
Open filter and search	ALT + ↓ → E	Opens the filter in the column that you are hovering and brings you to the search bar inside of the filter.
Open filter and clear	ALT + ↓ → C	Opens the filter in the column that you are hovering and clears any pre-existing filters on that column.
Open filter and sort A-Z, ascending, or oldest to newest	ALT + ↓ → S	Opens the filter in the column that you are hovering and sorts A-Z for categorical data, ascending for numerical data, or oldest to newest for date data.
Open filter and select data type specific filters	ALT + ↓ → F	Opens the filter in the column that you are hovering and brings you to the search bar inside of the filter.
Open filter and sort Z-A, descending, or newest to oldest	ALT + ↓ → O	Opens the filter in the column that you are hovering and sorts Z-A for categorical data, descending for numerical data, or newest to oldest for date data.

Data Cleaning Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut	Description
Go to Special	CTRL + G → Click “Special”	Freezes the top row of your Excel worksheet.
Remove duplicates	ALT + A + M	Opens the “remove duplicates” dialogue box
Find	CTRL + F	Opens the “find” dialogue box to search in your workbook
Find and replace	CTRL + H	Opens the “find and replace” dialogue box to search in your workbook
Fills all selected cells	CTRL + ENTER	Fills all selected cells with the current entry

Pivot Table Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut	Description
Insert Pivot Table	ALT + N + V + T	Freezes the top row of your Excel worksheet
Refresh data	CTRL + ALT + F5	Refreshes the data and references in a worksheet
Find	CTRL + F	Opens the “find” dialogue box to search in your workbook
Find and replace	CTRL + H	Opens the “find and replace” dialogue box to search in your workbook
Fills all selected cells	CTRL + ENTER	Fills all selected cells with the current entry