19. Keyboard Shortcuts and Function Cheat Sheet
19.1 Keyboard Shortcuts (Excel for Windows)
The shortcuts below were checked against Microsoft's official support article Keyboard shortcuts in Excel (support.microsoft.com, Windows tab, read in September 2026). They refer to the US keyboard layout; a comma (for example Alt, H, H) means press the keys one after another. A few very common shortcuts that the article lists only for other platforms are marked †.
Workbook, ribbon and general
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open / Save / Close workbook | Ctrl + O / Ctrl + S / Ctrl + W |
| Save As | F12 |
| Undo / Repeat last action | Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y |
| Show ribbon Key Tips | Alt or F10 |
| Home / Insert / Page Layout / Formulas / Data / Review / View tab | Alt + H / Alt + N / Alt + P / Alt + M / Alt + A / Alt + R / Alt + W |
| Search box on the ribbon | Alt + Q |
| Expand or collapse the ribbon | Ctrl + F1 |
| Context (right-click) menu | Shift + F10 |
| Insert a new worksheet | Shift + F11 |
| Next / previous sheet | Ctrl + Page Down / Ctrl + Page Up |
| Go To dialog | F5 |
| Spelling | F7 |
| Zoom in / out | Ctrl + Alt + = / Ctrl + Alt + - |
Navigation and selection
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move to edge of data region | Ctrl + Arrow key |
| Select to edge of data region | Ctrl + Shift + Arrow key |
| Go to A1 / last used cell | Ctrl + Home / Ctrl + End |
| Select current region (press again for whole sheet) | Ctrl + A or Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar |
| Select current region around active cell | Ctrl + Shift + * |
| Select entire column / row | Ctrl + Spacebar / Shift + Spacebar |
| Add non-adjacent range to selection | Shift + F8 |
| Extend-selection mode on/off | F8 |
| Open a data-validation drop-down | Alt + Down Arrow |
Entering and editing data
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Edit active cell | F2 |
| New line in the same cell | Alt + Enter |
| Fill selected cells with current entry | Ctrl + Enter |
| Fill down | Ctrl + D |
| Fill right † | Ctrl + R |
| Current date / current time | Ctrl + ; / Ctrl + Shift + : |
| Copy formula / value from cell above | Ctrl + ' / Ctrl + Shift + " |
| Flash Fill | Ctrl + E |
| Insert / delete cells dialog | Ctrl + Shift + + / Ctrl + - |
| Paste Special dialog | Ctrl + Alt + V (then V = values, T = formats, F = formulas, W = column widths) |
| Insert hyperlink | Ctrl + K |
| New note / new threaded comment | Shift + F2 / Ctrl + Shift + F2 |
| Hide rows / hide columns | Ctrl + 9 / Ctrl + 0 |
| Find / Replace † | Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H |
Formatting
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Format Cells dialog | Ctrl + 1 |
| Bold / Italic / Underline / Strikethrough | Ctrl + B / Ctrl + I / Ctrl + U / Ctrl + 5 |
| Number format with thousands separator, 2 decimals | Ctrl + Shift + ! |
| Currency / Percentage / Date format | Ctrl + Shift + $ / Ctrl + Shift + % / Ctrl + Shift + # |
| General format | Ctrl + Shift + ~ |
| Outline border / remove border | Ctrl + Shift + & / Ctrl + Shift + _ |
| Fill colour (ribbon sequence) | Alt, H, H |
| Centre align (ribbon sequence) | Alt, H, A, C |
Formulas, data and analysis
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| AutoSum | Alt + = |
| Toggle absolute/relative reference | F4 (while editing a reference) |
| Insert Function dialog | Shift + F3 |
| Function Arguments dialog (after typing a function name) | Ctrl + A |
| Paste Name dialog | F3 |
| Define Name (ribbon sequence) | Alt, M, M, D |
| Show formulas / values | Ctrl + ` |
| Calculate all / active sheet | F9 / Shift + F9 |
| Create Table | Ctrl + T or Ctrl + L |
| Turn AutoFilter on/off † | Ctrl + Shift + L |
| Quick Analysis | Ctrl + Q |
| Embedded chart / chart on new sheet | Alt + F1 / F11 |
| Refresh data in current sheet / Refresh All | Ctrl + F5 / Ctrl + Alt + F5 |
| Open Power Query Editor | Alt + F12 |
| Macro dialog / VBA Editor | Alt + F8 / Alt + F11 |
| Show or hide outline symbols | Ctrl + 8 |
† Ctrl + R, Ctrl + F / Ctrl + H and Ctrl + Shift + L are standard in Excel for Windows and appear in Microsoft's Mac/web tables of the same article, but were not listed in its Windows tables at the time of checking.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Many students try to memorise 50 shortcuts at once and forget them all within a week. Pick just 3 shortcuts a day (for example Ctrl + Arrow, Ctrl + T, F4) and use them instead of the mouse. Once they become second nature, add the next 3 – keep building like that.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
बरेच students एकदम 50 shortcuts पाठ करायचा प्रयत्न करतात आणि आठवड्यात सगळे विसरतात. रोज फक्त 3 shortcuts निवडा (उदाहरणार्थ Ctrl + Arrow, Ctrl + T, F4) आणि mouse न वापरता तेच वापरा. Shortcut हातात बसला की पुढचे 3 – असं वाढवत जा.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
बहुत से students एक साथ 50 shortcuts रटने की कोशिश करते हैं और हफ़्ते भर में सब भूल जाते हैं. रोज़ सिर्फ़ 3 shortcuts चुनो (जैसे Ctrl + Arrow, Ctrl + T, F4) और mouse की जगह वही इस्तेमाल करो. Shortcut हाथ में बैठ जाए तो अगले 3 – ऐसे बढ़ाते जाओ.