List of Excel Shortcuts
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 for both a PC and a Mac below. To master these skills, check out CFI’s Free Excel Crash Course.
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 |
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 or the Excel formulas cheat sheet. Excel is quite robust, meaning there is 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 our 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.
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 resources:
