34  Useful Shortcuts

Any experienced Excel user will regularly use the Excel help documentation or search engines to look up how certain functionality works. This is completely normal—there are simply too many things to remember by heart. Nevertheless, looking up and reading a “how to…?” is time-intensive, so it pays off to work efficiently with Excel and to remember as many functionalities and shortcuts as possible. As we focus on the essential elements of Excel, it is recommended to know most of these by heart.

TipSearch Effectively

Because millions of people use Excel, you can usually find a solution to almost any Excel question through a web search. When searching: - Include “Excel 365” or “Excel 2021” for modern solutions - Include the function name if you’re troubleshooting a formula - Add “without VBA” if you want formula-only solutions

Finally, remember: there are often multiple ways to accomplish the same task in Excel. Focus on understanding the concepts, and you’ll be able to adapt to any situation.

In the following tables, you find an overview of the most useful keyboard shortcuts in Excel.

34.2 Editing

Shortcut Action
F2 Edit active cell
CTRL + C / V / X Copy / Paste / Cut
CTRL + ALT + V Paste Special dialog
CTRL + Z / Y Undo / Redo
CTRL + D Fill down
CTRL + R Fill right
CTRL + E Flash Fill
CTRL + ; Insert current date
CTRL + SHIFT + ; Insert current time

34.3 Formatting

Shortcut Action
CTRL + 1 Format Cells dialog
CTRL + B / I / U Bold / Italic / Underline
CTRL + SHIFT + ~ General format
CTRL + SHIFT + $ Currency format
CTRL + SHIFT + % Percentage format

34.4 Formulas

Shortcut Action
F4 Toggle absolute/relative references ($)
F3 Paste Name (list of defined names)
F9 Recalculate all workbooks
CTRL + ` Show/hide formulas
CTRL + SHIFT + Enter Legacy array formula entry

34.5 Files & Help

Shortcut Action
F1 Help
F12 Save As
CTRL + N New workbook
CTRL + O Open workbook
CTRL + S Save
CTRL + P Print
CTRL + F / H Find / Find and Replace