Helpful Excel Shortcuts
admin 5/16/2019
As we've observed before, there's no shortage of information on Microsoft Office keyboard shortcuts. You can tap the Help files, hunt the info down via Google, or download a comprehensive list, like this Excel cheat sheet.
It's great to know the resources are out there. But on a practical level, mastering 10 genuinely useful shortcuts will get you a lot farther than a vague knowledge of 50 shortcuts you seldom use and can't remember. Here are 10 timesavers that put the short in shortcut.
Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.
The shortcuts
Action | Shortcut |
Insert a new line within a cell | [Alt] [Enter] |
Enable editing within a cell | [F2] |
Add a comment to a cell | [Shift] [F2] |
Open Print Preview | [Ctrl] [F2] |
Fill selected cells with an entry you typed in one cell | [Ctrl] [Enter] |
Fill data down or to the right through selected cells | [Ctrl] D or [Ctrl ] R |
Create a name | [Ctrl [F3] |
Insert the current date or time | Ctrl] and ; (semicolon) or Ctrl and : (colon) |
Create a chart from a range of data | [F11] |
Toggle the display of formulas | [Ctrl] ~ |
Your picks?
Anne of green gables pbs. 'Most useful' is certainly in the eye of the beholder. What favorite keyboard shortcuts would you add to the list?