Learn the 50 Most Useful Excel Keyboard Shortcuts (Save Hours)

Learn the 50 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

If you want to cut your Excel work time fast, stop reaching for the mouse. Learn a core set of shortcuts, then force yourself to use them daily until they become automatic. The shortcuts below are pulled from Microsoft’s official Excel shortcut reference.

How to Learn Them (Without Pain)

• Pick 10 shortcuts per day (5 minutes reading + 5 minutes using them in a real sheet).
• No mouse rule for 15 minutes/day while doing normal work.
• Make a tiny cheat sheet (Top 10 you use most) and keep it next to your keyboard.
• Mac note: some keys like Home/End may require Fn on MacBooks.

A) Workbooks, Search, and Quick Actions

1. New workbook: Ctrl + N
2. Open workbook: Ctrl + O
3. Save: Ctrl + S
4. Save As: F12
5. Print: Ctrl + P
6. Close workbook window: Ctrl + W
7. Find: Ctrl + F
8. Replace: Ctrl + H
9. Go To: F5 (or Ctrl + G)
10. Toggle Filter (AutoFilter): Ctrl + Shift + L

B) Selection and Navigation

11. Select all / current region: Ctrl + A
12. Select entire column: Ctrl + Space
13. Select entire row: Shift + Space
14. Extend selection by 1 cell: Shift + Arrow
15. Extend selection to last nonblank: Ctrl + Shift + Arrow
16. Extend selection to start of row: Shift + Home
17. Extend selection to start of sheet: Ctrl + Shift + Home
18. Extend selection to last used cell: Ctrl + Shift + End
19. Add a non-adjacent range to selection: Shift + F8
20. Hide a column: Ctrl + 0

C) Editing, Clipboard, and Fill

21. Unhide a column: Ctrl + Shift + 0
22. Hide a row: Ctrl + 9
23. Unhide a row: Ctrl + Shift + 9
24. Cut: Ctrl + X
25. Copy: Ctrl + C
26. Paste: Ctrl + V
27. Paste Special: Ctrl + Alt + V
28. Paste Values: V (after Paste Special dialog)
29. Fill Down: Ctrl + D
30. Fill Right: Ctrl + R

D) Formulas and Data Tools

31. Edit active cell: F2
32. Line break inside a cell: Alt + Enter
33. Insert current date: Ctrl + ;
34. Insert current time: Ctrl + Shift + ;
35. Show/Hide formulas: Ctrl + `
36. Copy formula from cell above: Ctrl + '
37. Copy value from cell above: Ctrl + Shift + "
38. Toggle absolute/relative refs: F4
39. AutoSum: Alt + =
40. Create a table: Ctrl + T

E) Formatting

41. Format Cells dialog: Ctrl + 1
42. Bold: Ctrl + B
43. Italic: Ctrl + I
44. Underline: Ctrl + U
45. General format: Ctrl + Shift + ~
46. Currency format: Ctrl + Shift + $
47. Percentage format: Ctrl + Shift + %
48. Date format: Ctrl + Shift + #
49. Time format: Ctrl + Shift + @
50. Number format with thousands separator: Ctrl + Shift + !

Final Tip

Shortcuts only work if you use them daily. Try committing to one week of “keyboard-only” Excel work — by the end, you’ll wonder how you ever used a mouse.