by Penne Cole

Created on: November 03, 2011   Last Updated: November 04, 2011

Using keyboard short cuts in Microsoft Excel is a great way to increase your productivity. In fact, many expert Excel users consider using the mouse a taboo because of the time wasted switching between the mouse and the keyboard. While the average user typically will not need to cut their use of the mouse completely, knowing the short cuts for a few commonly used commands will help to save time and boost productivity when using Excel.

Navigation

Knowing how to efficiently navigate around a spreadsheet is important for any Excel user. If you want to get to the end of your row or column, hold down Ctrl while you press the arrow keys. For example, pressing Ctrl and the right arrow key will take you to the right most boundary of your block of data. If you want to select an entire row or column, use the Ctrl and arrow keys to get to one end of your data set, then press Ctrl, Shift, and the arrow key simultaneously. For example, to select a column of data, move to the top of your data set using the Ctrl and up arrow key, then press Ctrl, Shift and the down arrow key simultaneously to select the column of data.

If you want to get to the top left corner of your spreadsheet, i.e. cell A1, hold down the Ctrl key then press Home. Similarly, holding down the Ctrl key while pressing End will take you to the right corner of your dataset.

Copy, Cut and Paste

Like in other Microsoft Office programs, pressing Ctrl and C is the shortcut for copy while Ctrl and X is the shortcut for cut. However, in Excel, there is a marked difference between cut and copy so make sure you know which to use and when. There are also many paste options in Excel. The generic shortcut is Ctrl and P. However, you can also choose to:

- paste the formatting only: Alt + E + S + T for any version of Excel or Alt + H + V + R in Excel 2010

- paste values without the underlying formulas: Alt + E + S + V for any Excel version of Alt + H + V + V in Excel 2010

- paste column widths: If you want to make all column widths the same, try pressing Ctrl + C to copy the cell width you want then highlight the columns you want to change and press Alt + E + S + W or Alt + H + V + W in Excel 2010.

Formula Commands

Instead of clicking in the formula bar when you want to enter a formula, simply enter “=” or “+” into the cell, followed by your formula. To quickly sum a column or row, simply press Alt + “=”+ at the end of the row or column. If you have automatic calculation switched off, pressing F9 will force a recalculation.

File Commands

Generic file commands are the same in Microsoft Excel as in other Microsoft Office programs.

- Ctrl + N: Opens a new spreadsheet

- Ctrl + O: Takes you to the open spreadsheet menu

- Ctrl + S: Saves the spreadsheet

- F12: Saves the spreadsheet under a different file name

Using keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Excel instead of switching back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse will save you time and boost your productivity. Keyboard shortcuts can be easily learnt simply by observation. In Microsoft 2003, pressing Alt followed by the underlined letter in the menu will open the menu. For example, pressing Alt + E will open the Edit menu. In Microsoft 2010, pressing Alt will make the shortcut letters for each menu appear. As with anything else, frequent use will help you to learn and memorize these keyboard shortcuts. 

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