Appendix

Important Keyboard Shortcuts

Many users of Excel prefer (if possible) to use the keyboard rather than the mouse to perform
key tasks. In this appendix, I list the most important keyboard shortcuts. For a complete list
of keyboard shortcuts, please see Microsoft Excel 2010 Inside Out (Microsoft Press 2010), by
Mark Dodge and Craig Stinson.

I have grouped the shortcuts in the following categories:

■ Keyboard accelerators
■ Windows shortcut keys
■ Formatting keys
■ Formula shortcuts
■ Navigating worksheets
■ Cell selection
■ Navigating workbooks and windows
■ Other shortcut keys

Keyboard Accelerators
Each ribbon tab can be displayed by pressing the Alt key plus a designated key, as shown in
Figure A-1. For example, pressing Alt+F displays the File tab; pressing Alt+H brings up the
Home tab. Excel also assigns keyboard shortcuts to Quick Access Toolbar commands. For
­example, in Figure A-1, Alt+1 is the shortcut for the Save As command. The keys associated
with the Quick Access Toolbar change as commands are added or deleted from the Quick
Access Toolbar.

FIGURE A-1  Press the Alt key to display the shortcut key for displaying a tab.

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After you use an Alt key combination to access a tab, you see the keystrokes associated with
commands on that tab. After accessing the Home tab by pressing Alt+H, for example, you
see the keystrokes shown in Figure A-2. For example, if your cursor is in a cell and you type
AL, the text in the cell is left justified.

FIGURE A-2  Accelerator keys for the Home tab.

Windows Shortcut Keys

The following Ctrl key combinations work with Excel and most Windows applications.

Keystroke Operation
Ctrl+A Selects the entire worksheet.
Ctrl+B Toggles boldface on and off for the selection.
Ctrl+C Copies the selection.
Ctrl+F Displays the Find And Replace dialog box.
Ctrl+I Toggles italics on and off for the selection.
Ctrl+N Opens a new workbook.
Ctrl+O Displays the Open dialog box.
Ctrl+P Activates print options.
Ctrl+S Saves a file.
Ctrl+U Toggles underlining on or off for the selection.
Ctrl+V Pastes the selection.
Ctrl+W Closes the workbook.
Ctrl+X Cuts the selection.
Ctrl+Y Repeats the last command or action, if possible.
Ctrl+Z Undoes the last action

Formatting Keys
Keystroke Operation
Ctrl+Shift+& Applies borders to selected cells.
Ctrl+Shift+_ Removes borders from selected cells.
 Appendix 3

Keystroke Operation
Ctrl+B Toggles boldface on and off for the selection.
Ctrl+I Toggles italics on and off for the .selection.
Ctrl+U Toggles underlining on or off for the selection.
Ctrl+1 Displays the Format Cells dialog box.
Ctrl+5 Toggles strikethrough on and off for the selection.
Ctrl+Shift+~ Applies the general number format; for example, this key combination turns
the data 2/14/50 into its serial number, 18308.
Ctrl+Shift+! Applies a numerical format with two decimal places and a comma as the
thousands separator; for example, 4200.3432 becomes 4,200.34.
Ctrl+Shift+# Converts the format to day-month-year; for example, 18308 is converted to
14-Feb-50.
Ctrl+Shift+@ Applies a time format with AM and PM; for example, .6 becomes 2:24 PM
and .4 becomes 9:36 AM.
Ctrl+Shift+$ Applies a currency format; for example, 4200.343 becomes $4,200.34.
Ctrl+Shift+% Applies the percentage format with no decimal points; for example, .133
­becomes 13% and 1.343 becomes 134%.
Ctrl+Shift+^ Formats a cell with scientific notation (two decimal places). For example
25,324.33 is formatted as 2.53E+04.

Formula Shortcuts
Keystroke Operation
Ctrl+~ Toggles between showing formulas and the results of formulas in
the entire worksheet..
F2 or double-clicking the cell Allows you to edit the selected cell.
Shift+F2 Allows you to insert or edit a comment.
F3 Displays the Paste Name dialog box.
Ctrl+Shift+F3 Displays the Create Names From Selection dialog box for creating
a range name.
F9 Recalculates all open workbooks.
Shift+F9 Recalculates the active worksheet.
Shift+F3 Displays the Insert Function dialog box.
Ctrl+F3 Displays the Name Manager dialog box.
Ctrl+[ Highlights direct precedents of the active cell.
Shift+Ctrl+[ Highlights all precedents of the active cell.
Ctrl+] Highlights direct dependent cells of the active cell.
Shift+Ctrl+] Highlights all cells depending on the active cell.
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Navigating Worksheets
Keystroke Operation
Enter Moves the cell pointer up, down, right, or left, where the direction
can be set by selecting File, Options, Advanced, and then choosing
the direction under Editing Options.
F5 Displays the Go To dialog box, which lets you pick a destination cell
or range or open the Go To Special dialog box.
Ctrl+arrow key Moves to the edge of the current data region. For example, if A2:B6
contains data and cell A2 is selected, pressing Ctrl +Down Arrow
takes you to cell A6.
Home Moves to the first cell in the current row.
Ctrl+Home Moves to the beginning of the worksheet.
Ctrl+End Moves to the last used cell in the worksheet.
Page Up or Page Down Moves up or down one screen.
Alt+Page Up Moves one screen to the right.
Alt+Page Down Moves one screen to the left.

Cell Selection
Keystroke Operation
Shift+Spacebar Selects the entire row for rows in the selection.
Ctrl +Spacebar Selects the entire column for columns in the selection.
Ctrl+0 (zero) Hides selected columns.
Ctrl+9 Hides selected rows.
Ctrl+Shift+9 Unhides selected rows.
Ctrl+Shift+* Selects all cells in the data range containing the active cell.
Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar If the active cell is not in a table, selects the entire worksheet. If
the active cell is in a table, selects the table without the headers.
Pressing the keystroke combination again selects the whole table,
and pressing the keystroke combination again selects the entire
worksheet.
 Appendix 5

Navigating Worksheets and Windows

Keystrokes Operation
F6 Moves to the next window when the screen has been split. Also
­activates the accelerator keys on the ribbon.
Shift+F6 Moves to the previous window when the screen has been split. Also
activates the accelerator keys on the ribbon.
Ctrl+Page Up Moves to the previous worksheet in workbook.
Ctrl+Page Down Moves to the next worksheet in the workbook.
Shift+F11 Inserts a new worksheet.
Ctrl+F10 Toggles between restoring and maximizing the worksheet window.

Other Shortcut Keys

Keystroke Operation
F1 Opens the Help system.
Ctrl+F1 Toggles between showing and hiding the ribbon.
F7 Starts the spelling checker on the selected cell range.
F12 Displays the Save As dialog box.
Shift+F12 Saves the workbook.
Ctrl+F12 Displays the Open dialog box.
Ctrl+F4 Closes the current window.
Ctrl+F9 Minimizes the workbook.
F11 Creates in a new worksheet a chart based on selected data.
Shift+F10 Equivalent to right-clicking.
Ctrl+Shift+O (letter O) Selects all comments.