Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet: Basic Microsoft Excel

Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet: Basic Microsoft Excel

Here is an in-depth, article-style Excel shortcuts guide based on your cheat sheet, organised for learning and speed instead of just a raw list.​

Function keys (F1–F12)

• F1 opens Excel’s help pane so you can quickly search for commands or troubleshooting steps without leaving the workbook.​

• F2 switches the active cell into edit mode and places the cursor at the end of the cell’s contents, which is much faster than double-clicking.​

• F4 repeats your last worksheet action, which is extremely useful for applying the same formatting or operation multiple times.​

• F5 opens the Go To dialog, letting you jump instantly to a specific cell, named range, or special selection (like blanks).​

• F7 launches the spelling checker, saving time when reviewing large reports.​

• F9 recalculates all worksheets in all open workbooks, which is important when working with manual calculation mode or complex models.​

• F11 quickly creates a chart sheet from the current selection, ideal for fast visual analysis of a data block.​

• F12 opens Save As so you can save a new version of your file or change format without going through the ribbon.​

Shift, Ctrl, and Alt combinations with function keys extend these behaviours: for example, Shift + F2 inserts or edits a cell comment, Shift + F3 opens the Insert Function dialog, and Shift + F9 recalculates only the active worksheet instead of all workbooks. Similarly, Alt + F1 creates an embedded chart using the selected range, while Alt + F4 closes all workbooks and exits Excel, which is useful when finishing a session.​

Core editing and clipboard shortcuts

• Ctrl + C copies, Ctrl + X cuts, and Ctrl + V pastes the current selection, forming the basic clipboard trio that you will use constantly.​

• Ctrl + Z undoes the last action, while Ctrl + Y repeats the last action, enabling quick trial-and-error when formatting or adjusting formulas.​

• Ctrl + D fills the selected cells downward using the top cell’s content, and Ctrl + R fills rightward using the leftmost cell, which is much faster than dragging fill handles.​

• Ctrl + ' and Ctrl + Shift + 2 (as defined in your sheet) both allow entering or copying values from the cell above into the active cell, speeding up repeated entries.​

• Delete and Backspace both remove content, but Delete removes the selection or characters to the right, and Backspace removes characters to the left, which matters when editing directly in a cell.​

Advanced entry shortcuts include Ctrl + ; to insert the current date and Ctrl + Shift + ; to insert the current time, which is useful for logging timestamps in operational sheets. Alt + Enter inserts a line break within a cell, which is handy for multi-line notes or structured text inside one cell.​

Formatting and styling shortcuts

• Ctrl + 1 opens the Format Cells dialog, the central place to control number formats, alignment, borders, and more.​

• Ctrl + 2, Ctrl + 3, Ctrl + 4, and Ctrl + 5 quickly toggle bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough respectively on the current selection, allowing fast text emphasis without using the ribbon.​

• Ctrl + U also toggles underline and is often used interchangeably with Ctrl + 4 depending on your habits.​

For number formats, Ctrl + Shift with various keys gives you instant styling: for example, Ctrl + Shift + 1 (or !) applies a comma-style format with two decimals, Ctrl + Shift + 4 (or $) applies a currency format, and Ctrl + Shift + 5 (or %) applies a percentage format. Ctrl + Shift + 6 (or ^) applies an exponential format and Ctrl + Shift + ~ returns cells to General format, which is helpful when cleaning up inconsistent formatting in imported data. Border controls include Ctrl + Shift + 7 to apply an outline border and Ctrl + Shift + - to remove all borders from the selection in one step.​

Selection and navigation shortcuts

• Arrow keys move one cell at a time, but Ctrl + Arrow keys jump to the edge of the current region in that direction, letting you quickly navigate large data blocks.​

• Ctrl + Home jumps to cell A1, and Ctrl + End jumps to the last used cell on the sheet, which is very useful for checking the “true” used range of a messy file.​

• Page Up and Page Down move by one screen of rows, while Alt + Page Up and Alt + Page Down move by one screen of columns left or right, helping with wide dashboards.​

Selection shortcuts build on navigation: Shift + Arrow keys extend the selection one cell at a time, and Ctrl + Shift + Arrow keys extend it to the edge of the current region in that direction, which is ideal for selecting entire contiguous data blocks quickly. Ctrl + Spacebar selects the entire column of the active cell and Shift + Spacebar selects the entire row, while Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar can select the entire worksheet or all objects depending on context. Ctrl + A selects the entire worksheet or the current region, and in some contexts opens the function palette when a function name is active.​

Worksheet, workbook, and window management

• Ctrl + N creates a new workbook, Ctrl + O opens the Open dialog, and Ctrl + S saves the current workbook, with Ctrl + F12 also opening the File Open dialog directly.​

• Ctrl + W closes the active workbook window, while Alt + F4 closes all workbooks and exits Excel completely, which is useful when closing multiple files at the end of the day.​

• Ctrl + F4 closes the selected workbook window, and Ctrl + F5 restores the window size when a workbook is maximised, giving finer control over window layouts.​

To move between open workbooks or windows, Ctrl + F6 moves forward, Ctrl + Shift + F6 moves backward, Ctrl + Tab cycles forward, and Ctrl + Shift + Tab cycles backward, making it easy to compare and copy between files. Ctrl + Page Up and Ctrl + Page Down switch between worksheets within a workbook, while Ctrl + Shift + Page Up or Page Down select multiple adjacent sheets, enabling group editing across sheets at once. Alt + Tab and Alt + Shift + Tab switch between applications, which is helpful when working between Excel, a browser, and other tools.​

Formulas, analysis, and auditing

• Typing = starts a formula, and Ctrl + ` toggles between showing formulas and results, which is powerful for auditing and debugging models [attached_file:11].

• Alt + = inserts an AutoSum formula over the adjacent block of cells, giving a fast way to total columns or rows without manually typing SUM.​

• Ctrl + Shift + Enter enters a formula as an array formula in classic Excel, which is important for advanced calculations prior to dynamic arrays.​

For auditing, Ctrl + [ selects all precedent cells referenced directly by the active formula, and Ctrl + Shift + [ extends this to include indirect precedents as well, helping you trace the inputs to a calculation. Conversely, Ctrl + ] selects all dependents that reference the active cell, and Ctrl + Shift + ] selects direct and indirect dependents, making it easier to understand downstream impact before editing key assumptions. Ctrl + F opens the Find dialog, Ctrl + H opens Replace, and Ctrl + G opens Go To, all of which are critical when exploring and cleaning large models.