Excel Shortcuts PC Mac

Cheat sheet of the most important Excel keyboard shortcuts to be familiar with

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List of Excel Shortcuts

Excel shortcuts[1] – It may seem slower at first if you’re used to the mouse, but it’s worth the investment to take the time and learn these important shortcuts.  We have provided the top time-saving Excel shortcuts below including helpful Macabacus shortcuts. To master these skills, check out CFI’s Free Excel Crash Course and Macabacus Essentials Course.

List of Excel shortcuts on keyboard for PC and Mac

PC (Windows) Shortcuts & Mac Shortcuts

Editing shortcuts

Edit active cell
F2
Ctrl
U
Cut
Ctrl
X
X
Copy
Ctrl
C
C
Paste
Ctrl
V
V
Paste Special
Alt
E
S
Option
V
Paste name into formula
F3
Toggle references
F4
T
Start a new line within the same cell
Alt
Enter
Ctrl
Option
Return
Insert or edit cell comment
Shift
F2
Shift
F2
Display shortcut menu (i.e. same as right click)
Shift
F10
Shift
F10
Insert worksheet
Shift
F11
Shift
F11
Define a name for a cell
Ctrl
F3
Ctrl
F3
Fill down (e.g. copy formula down in selected cells)
Ctrl
D
Ctrl
D
Fill right
Ctrl
R
Ctrl
R
Insert argument names and parentheses for a function after typing a function name in a formula
Ctrl
Shift
A
Ctrl
Shift
A
Insert row
Alt
I
R
Ctrl
I
Insert column
Alt
I
C
Ctrl
I

Formatting Shortcuts

Brings up format cells menu
Ctrl
1
1
Bold
Ctrl
B
B
Italic
Ctrl
I
I
Undo
Ctrl
Z
Z
Redo
Ctrl
Y
Y
Repeat last action
F4
Y
Select all used cells (select entire worksheet if command is repeated)
Ctrl
A
A
Number format
Ctrl
Shift
!
Ctrl
Shift
!
Date format
Ctrl
Shift
#
Ctrl
Shift
#
Percent format
Ctrl
Shift
%
Ctrl
Shift
%
Increase font size
Alt
h
fg
Shift
>
Decrease font size
Alt
h
fk
Shift
<
Increase decimal
Alt
h
O
Decrease decimal
Alt
h
9
Increase indent
Alt
h
6
Ctrl
M
Decrease indent
Alt
h
5
Shift
m

Navigation Shortcuts

Move from cell to cell
Arrows
Arrows
Go to
F5
F5
Go to cell A1
Ctrl
Home
Fn
Ctrl
Left
Go to beginning of row
Home
Fn
Left
Select the adjacent cell
Shift
Arrow
Shift
Arrow
Select entire row
Shift
Spacebar
Shift
Spacebar
Select entire column
Ctrl
Spacebar
Ctrl
Spacebar
Select all to the start of the sheet
Ctrl
Shift
Home
Ctrl
Shift
Home
Select all to the last used cell of the sheet
Ctrl
Shift
End
Ctrl
Shift
End
Select to the end of the last used cell in row/column
Ctrl
Shift
Arrow
Ctrl
Shift
Arrow
Select the last used cell in row/column
Ctrl
Arrow
Ctrl
Arrow
Move one screen up
PageUp
Fn
Up
Move one screen down
PageDown
Fn
Down
Move one screen left
Alt
PageUp
Fn
Option
Up
Move one screen right
Alt
PageDown
Fn
Option
Down
Move to the next or previous worksheet (Move between tabs if you are in a menu window)
Ctrl
PageUp/Down
Ctrl
PageUp/Down
Move to next workbook (while in spreadsheet) Move to next divider (when in menu options)
Ctrl
Tab
Ctrl
Tab
Move to the next cell (Move between items within a menu window)
Tab
Tab

File Shortcuts

New
Ctrl
N
N
Open
Ctrl
O
O
Save workbook
Ctrl
S
Save As
F12
Shift
S
Print
Ctrl
P
P
Open print preview window
Ctrl
F2
Go to next workbook
Ctrl
Tab
-
Close file
Ctrl
F4
W
Close all open Excel files
Alt
F4
Q

Ribbon Shortcuts

Show ribbon accelerator keys
Alt
Show/hide ribbon
Ctrl
F1
R

Paste Special Shortcuts

Paste Special formats
Ctrl
Alt
V
t
Ctrl
V
t
Paste Special values
Ctrl
Alt
V
v
Ctrl
V
v
Paste Special formulas
Ctrl
Alt
V
f
Ctrl
V
f
Paste Special comments
Ctrl
Alt
V
c
Ctrl
V
c

Clear Shortcuts

Clear cell data
Delete
Delete
Clear cell formats
Alt
h
e
f
Clear cell comments
Alt
h
e
m
Clear all (data, formats, comments)
Alt
h
e
a

Selection Shortcuts

Select a cell range
Shift
Arrows
Shift
Arrows
Highlight a contiguous range
Ctrl
Shift
Arrows
Ctrl
Shift
Arrows
Extend selection up one screen
Shift
PageUp
Fn
Shift
Up
Extend selection down one screen
Shift
PageDown
Fn
Shift
Down
Extend selection left one screen
Alt
shift
PageUp
Fn
Shift
Up
Extend selection right one screen
Alt
shift
PageDown
Fn
Shift
Down
Select all
Ctrl
A
A

Data Editing Shortcuts

Fill down from cell above
Ctrl
D
Ctrl
D
Fill right from cell left
Ctrl
R
Ctrl
R
Find and replace
Ctrl
F
Ctrl
F
Show all constants
F5
Alt
s
o
Highlight cells with comments
F5
Alt
s
c

Data Editing (inside cell) Shortcuts

Edit the active cell (edit mode)
F2
F2
While editing cell, allow use of arrow keys to create reference
F2
F2
Confirm change and get out of cell
Enter
Enter
Cancel a cell entry and get out of cell
Esc
Esc
Insert line break within cell
Alt
Enter
Option
Enter
Highlight within a cell
Shift
Left/Right
Shift
Left/Right
Highlight contiguous items
Ctrl
Shift
Left/Right
Ctrl
Shift
Left/Right
Jump to beginning of cell contents
Home
Fn
Left
Jump to end of cell contents
End
Fn
Right
Delete character to left
Backspace
Delete
Delete character to right
Delete
Fn
Delete
Accept autocomplete suggestion
Tab
Tab
Referencing a cell from another worksheet
Ctrl
PageUp/Down
Arrows
Ctrl
Fn
Down/Up
Arrows

Other Shortcuts

Enter date
Ctrl
;
Ctrl
;
Enter time
Ctrl
Shift
:
Ctrl
Shift
:
Show formula/show values (key to the left of 1)
Ctrl
`
Ctrl
`
Select cells which refer to the active cell (useful before deleting a cell in a worksheet)
Ctrl
]
Ctrl
]
Drives menu bar
Alt
Next open program
Alt
Tab
Tab
Autosum
Alt
=
T

Reasons to Use Excel Shortcuts

To be more productive, faster, and more efficient when building financial models or performing financial analysis, it’s important to know the main keyboard shortcuts in Excel.  These are critical for careers in investment banking, equity research, FP&A, finance, accounting, and more.

The first thing you’ll do if you’re hired as an investment banking analyst is take a series of intense Excel training courses.  Your mouse will be taken away and you’ll be expected to learn financial modeling with only keyboard shortcuts.  If you follow our tips and tricks below you’ll be able to master these shortcuts on Windows or Mac operating systems.

You may also want to check out our section on Excel formulas cheat sheet. Excel is quite robust, meaning there are a lot of different tools that can be utilized within it, and therefore there are many skills one can practice and hone.

Free Excel Course

If you want to learn these keyboard shortcuts with your own personal online instructor, check out CFI’s Free Excel Crash Course! You’ll receive step by step instructions and demonstrations on how to avoid the mouse and only use your keyboard.

free Excel keyboard shortcuts course

Additional Resources

Thanks for reading CFI’s guide to Excel shortcuts for your PC and Mac keyboard! By taking the time to learn and master these keys, you’ll significantly speed up your financial analysis. To learn more, check out these additional CFI resources:

Article Sources

  1. Excel Shortcuts

Excel Tutorial

To master the art of Excel, check out CFI’s Excel Crash Course, which teaches you how to become an Excel power user.  Learn the most important formulas, functions, and shortcuts to become confident in your financial analysis.

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