Summary

A curated guide to the most useful Excel shortcuts for Windows and Mac, with explanations, tips, and videos. Covers navigation, selection, data entry, formatting, formulas, and more.

A lot of your time in Excel is spent on very repetitive actions. The good news is that Excel has hundreds of keyboard shortcuts that can help speed these tasks up. The bad news is that there are so many shortcuts, it's easy to get confused about which ones to use. This article focuses on the shortcuts I think most Excel users should know. These are time-saving shortcuts you can use day after day.

There are over 200 Excel shortcuts. This article explains the ones I think are most useful. – Dave

Table of contents

Next worksheet / Previous worksheet

Often, you'll need to switch back and forth between different worksheets in the same workbook. If you are working in a large workbook with many sheets, this can be annoying with a mouse, because some sheets may not be visible. However, with the shortcuts below, you can quickly move forward and backward through sheets in a workbook using only the keyboard.

Shortcut Win Mac
Move to the next worksheet Ctrl PgDn ⌥ →
Move to the previous worksheet Ctrl PgUp ⌥ ←

Video: Shortcuts to navigate worksheets

Next workbook / Previous workbook

Another common task in Excel is switching between open workbooks. Perhaps you are switching between workbooks to see what's changed, or maybe you are copying values from one workbook into another. The fastest way to switch workbooks in Excel is to use these shortcuts:

Shortcut Win Mac
Move to the next workbook Ctrl Tab ⌘ `
Move to the previous workbook Ctrl Shift Tab ⌘ ⇧ `

In Windows, you can also use Ctrl + F6 and Ctrl + Shift + F6 to move to the next and previous workbook.

On a Mac, the shortcut for cycling between open windows in an application is Command + `. (See also: Excel shortcuts on the Mac.) This is the back-tick or grave accent key, which is usually found above the Tab key. Note this is a system-level shortcut, and not specific to Excel. If you have trouble, check System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts to confirm that "Move focus to the next window" is enabled.

Video: Shortcuts to navigate workbooks

Expand or collapse ribbon

At first glance, this might seem like a minor convenience. But here's the thing: that ribbon is hogging 4 precious rows of screen real estate, even when you're completely ignoring it. Working on a laptop screen? That's practically a crime. The good news is you can banish the ribbon with a quick keystroke, and summon it when needed. Think of it as giving your spreadsheet room to breathe.

Shortcut Win Mac
Expand or collapse ribbon Ctrl F1 ⌘ ⌥ R

Move to edge of data region

This shortcut sounds boring, but don't let that fool you. It's absolutely vital if you work with big lists or tables. Why? Because scrolling is a huge waste of time. Instead of manually dragging your way through endless rows and columns like you're on some kind of digital treadmill, just drop your cursor into the data and hit Control + Arrow key. Boom. You'll teleport instantly to the edge of your data range in whatever direction you choose.

Here's how it works: the cursor zips along until it hits the first empty cell, or the edge of the spreadsheet, whichever comes first. Starting in an empty cell? The behavior flips: now the cursor hunts down the first cell with actual content and parks there. Once you understand how this works, you'll find these shortcuts addictive.

Shortcut Win Mac
Move to right edge of data region Ctrl → ⌘ →
Move to left edge of data region Ctrl ← ⌘ ←
Move to top edge of data region Ctrl ↑ ⌘ ↑
Move to bottom edge of data region Ctrl ↓ ⌘ ↓

Mac users: Command or Control both work. Excel doesn't care.

Excel's speedy cursor. Modern Excel has 1,048,576 rows. Drop your cursor in A1, hit Control + down arrow, and you'll hit the bottom in under a second. Quick napkin math: at roughly 6 rows per inch, that's 1,048,576 ÷ 6 = 174,763 inches. Divide by 12 for feet (14,564), then by 5,280 for miles, and we get about 2.76 miles. Now here's the fun part: 2.76 miles in one second works out to 165.6 miles per minute, which scales up to 9,936 miles per hour. Round it up, and your cursor is basically traveling at 10,000 mph. That's faster than a speeding bullet. Faster than a fighter jet. Your mouse wheel? Not even close. 

Worksheet math showing cursor speed calculation

Extend selection to the edge of data

Navigating at high speed through a large table is great fun, but what really makes this idea powerful is selecting huge swaths of cells at the same time. Because when you try to select large collections of cells manually (let's say 10,000 rows), you will be scrolling a long time. A really long time.

To save your sanity and avoid all that scrolling, just add the Shift key to the Control + Arrow shortcut, and you will extend the current selection to include all the cells along the way. The best part about using Shift + Control + Arrow is that your selection will be perfectly accurate. Even though the cursor is moving incredibly fast, it will stop on a dime at the edge of a data region.

Shortcut Win Mac
Extend selection to right edge of data Ctrl Shift → ⌘ ⇧ →
Extend selection to left edge of data Ctrl Shift ← ⌘ ⇧ ←
Extend selection to top edge of data Ctrl Shift ↑ ⌘ ⇧ ↑
Extend selection to bottom edge of data Ctrl Shift ↓ ⌘ ⇧ ↓

Video: Shortcuts for extending selections

Move to first cell in worksheet

Getting around larger worksheets can get really tedious. Sure, you can use the scroll bars to scroll the worksheet into position, but scroll bars require control and patience. If you just want to get back to the first screen in a worksheet, use the shortcut below. This will bring you straight back to cell A1, no matter how far you've wandered.

Shortcut Win Mac
Move to first cell in worksheet Ctrl Home Fn ⌃ ←

Move to last cell in worksheet

In a similar way, you can jump to the "last cell" in a worksheet using the shortcut below. What is the last cell? Good question. The last cell in a worksheet is at the intersection of the last row that contains data and the last column that contains data. Often, the last cell in a worksheet doesn't contain any data itself. It just defines the lower right edge of a rectangle that makes up the used range of the worksheet.

Shortcut Win Mac
Move to last cell in worksheet Ctrl End Fn ⌃ →

One good use of this shortcut is to check for stray data. You can use this to make sure you don't accidentally print 16 blank pages because there's random data in cell Z1000. It's also useful when you notice that a workbook is suddenly a lot bigger on disk than it should be. In this case, it's likely that there's extra data somewhere in the worksheet.

SELECTING

Select all

Most people know Control + A as the "select all" shortcut, but it's smarter than you think. Its behavior changes based on context. When the cursor sits in an empty cell, Control + A selects the entire worksheet. But place that cursor inside a group of cells that contain data, and Control + A selects only that group instead.

The behavior changes again when the cursor is in an Excel Table. The first time you use Control + A, the table data is selected. The second time, both the table data + table header are selected. Finally, the third time you use Control + A, the entire worksheet is selected.

Shortcut Win Mac
Select all Ctrl A ⌘ A

Select current region

This shortcut selects the contiguous block of data surrounding the active cell. Unlike Control + A, which behaves differently depending on context, this shortcut always selects the current region and nothing more. It's a reliable way to grab a block of data when you're not sure exactly how far it extends. Especially useful before copying, formatting, or creating a chart.

Shortcut Win Mac
Select current region Ctrl Shift * ⌘ ⇧ *

Select row / select column

Both rows and columns can be selected with keyboard shortcuts. To select a row, use Shift + Space. To select a column, use Control + Space. Once you have a row or column selected, you can hold down the shift key and extend your selection by using the appropriate arrow keys. For example, if the cursor is in row 10 and you press Shift + Space, row 10 will be selected. You can then hold the shift key down and use the Up or Down arrow keys to select additional rows above or below row 10.

Once you have specific rows or columns selected, you can use other keyboard shortcuts to insert, delete, hide, and unhide rows and columns.

Shortcut Win Mac
Select row Shift Space ⇧ Space
Select column Ctrl Space ⌃ Space

If you are working in an Excel table, these same shortcuts will select rows and columns within the table, not the entire worksheet.

Video: Shortcuts for selecting cells

Select non-adjacent cells

Sometimes you need to select cells that are scattered across your worksheet. Maybe you want to format them all at once, enter the same data everywhere (hello, Control + Enter!), or just use the status bar to peek at a quick SUM of your random collection. Whatever the reason, this shortcut is your bridge between cells. Select your first cell (or group of cells), then hold down Control (or Command on Mac) and click away. Each click adds another cell to your growing collection of selections.

Shortcut Win Mac
Add cells to selection Ctrl Click ⌘ Click

Select visible cells only

Here's a shortcut that solves a problem you might not even know you have. When you copy a range that contains hidden rows or columns, Excel copies the hidden cells too. This can wreak havoc when you paste, because suddenly you've got data you can't even see mixed in with data you intended to copy. The fix? Select your range, then use this shortcut to trim the selection down to only the cells you can actually see. Now when you copy and paste, you get exactly what you expected.

Shortcut Win Mac
Select visible cells only Alt ; ⌘ ⇧ Z

Show the active cell on worksheet

Ever lose your cursor in a large worksheet? Sure, you could tap an arrow key to summon it back (but then you've moved to a new cell, oops). Or you could play detective with the name box. But why do any of that when you can use the shortcut below? It's like a "find my cursor" beacon that instantly scrolls your active cell into view, perfectly centered and ready for action.

Shortcut Win Mac
Show active cell Ctrl Backspace ⌘ Delete

Video: Shortcuts to move the active cell

Find next match

Rather basic, but worth knowing: once you've set up a find, and have found at least one match, you can keep finding "the next match" with the shortcut below. This is a nice way to step through matches in a worksheet methodically. The first shortcut below opens the Find dialog box. The second shortcut finds the next match.

Shortcut Win Mac
Find Ctrl F ⌘ F
Find next match Shift F4 ⌘ G

By the way, on Windows and Mac, you can also use Control + H to activate "Find and Replace".

Video: Shortcuts to find and replace

Display 'Go To' dialog box

The Go To Special dialog is a bit like the Paste Special Dialog. Within lies a treasure trove of utility hidden in an innocuous sounding control. Did you know you can use Go To Special to select only formulas? Only constants? Only blank cells? You can do all that and a lot more.

Unfortunately, the shortcut below only gets you halfway there, to the "Go To" dialog box. Then you need to click the Special button to get all the way to Go To Special. 

Go To dialog box

Go To Special dialog box

Still a worthy shortcut, however, because Go To Special is a gateway to many tricky and powerful features.

Shortcut Win Mac
Display Go To dialog box Ctrl G Fn ⌃ G

Videos on Go To Special:

ENTERING DATA

Start a new line in the same cell

This is not so much a shortcut as something you simply must know to enter multiple lines in a single cell. This is often a puzzle to Excel users (for obvious reasons) and I have no doubt that it has resulted in millions of Google searches. Here is the answer revealed: 

Shortcut Win Mac
Start new line in same cell Alt Enter ⌃ ⌥ Return

Enter the same value in multiple cells

This shortcut may not seem interesting, but you'll be surprised how often you use it once you understand how it works. Use Control + Enter when you want to enter the same value in multiple cells at once. This is a great way to save keystrokes when you want to enter the same value in a group of cells, even a group of non-contiguous cells. (See the previous shortcut for selecting non-adjacent cells.)

Shortcut Win Mac
Enter same data in multiple cells Ctrl Enter ⌘ Return

By the way, Control + Enter also has another handy feature: use it when you want to enter a value and remain in the same cell after hitting return.

Video: Shortcut for entering data in more than one cell

Insert current date / Insert current time

No Excel shortcut guide would be complete without mentioning these classics for the current date and time.

Shortcut Win Mac
Insert current date Ctrl ; ⌃ ;
Insert current time Ctrl Shift : ⌘ ;

To enter a date and time in a single cell, insert the current date, then a space, then insert the current time. Note that Excel will enter the current date or time using a valid Excel date in serial number format, with dates as integers and times as decimal values. You can then apply date or time formatting as you like.

Note: these shortcuts create static values that will not change. If you want to enter a date or time that will update automatically, use the TODAY or NOW functions.

Video: Shortcuts for the current date and time in Excel

Fill down / Fill right

Do you enjoy copying and pasting values in Excel? If so, ignore these shortcuts! Otherwise, these gems allow you to quickly copy data from one cell to another in one step, without using copy and paste. These shortcuts are very satisfying when they fit the data you are wrangling.

Shortcut Win Mac
Fill down Ctrl D ⌘ D
Fill right Ctrl R ⌘ R

You can use these same shortcuts to copy data to multiple cells, too. The trick is to select both the source cells and target cells before you use the shortcut. For example, to copy values from the row above into the next 6 rows in a table, select the source row and the next 6 target rows, then use Control + D.

Video: Shortcuts to enter data

Flash fill

Flash Fill is a modern Excel feature that deserves a spot on this list. It recognizes patterns in your data and fills in values automatically. Type an example or two of what you want in a column adjacent to your data, then use this shortcut. Excel will analyze the pattern and fill the remaining cells in one shot. It works for extracting text, combining values, reformatting data, and all sorts of other transformations you'd normally need formulas for.

Shortcut Win Mac
Flash fill Ctrl E ⌘ E

Note: A working formula is always more reliable and repeatable than Flash Fill, but getting a formula working can take time. Plus, you will probably want to convert the results to values, which is another step. When Flash Fill works, it is very handy.

EDITING

Edit the active cell

You can either double-click a cell or use F2 (Mac: Control + U) to enter "edit mode" for the active cell. This is the starting point for changing a cell's contents without erasing what's already there.

Shortcut Win Mac
Edit active cell F2 ⌃ U

You can always edit the text or formula in a selected cell with the formula bar; no action needed.

Video: Shortcuts for editing cells

Display the Paste Special dialog box

There are so many things you can do with paste special; it's a topic in itself. At the very least, you probably already use paste special to strip out unwanted formatting and formulas (Paste Special > Values). But did you know that you can also paste formatting, paste column widths, multiply and add values in place, and even transpose tables? Yep, it's all there.

Using Paste Special is a four-step process:

  1. Copy the data you want to work with.
  2. Open the Paste Special dialog box.
  3. Choose the operation(s) you want to perform.
  4. Click OK to apply the operation(s).

The shortcut below opens the Paste Special dialog box:

Shortcut Win Mac
Display the Paste Special dialog box Ctrl Alt V ⌘ ⌃ V

Paste Special dialog box

Once the Paste Special dialog box is open, you can select the operation you want to perform by typing a letter as shown in the table below:

Operation Key
Paste Special > All a
Paste Special > Formulas f
Paste Special > Values v
Paste Special > Formats t
Paste Special > Comments and Notes c
Paste Special > All using source theme h
Paste Special > All except borders x
Paste Special > Column widths w
Paste Special > Formulas and number formats r
Paste Special > Values and number formats u
Paste Special > All merging conditional formats g
Paste Special > None o
Paste Special > Add d
Paste Special > Subtract s
Paste Special > Multiply m
Paste Special > Divide i
Paste Special > Skip blanks b
Paste Special > Transpose e

Paste values in one step

In 2025, Excel 365 introduced a dedicated shortcut to paste values: Ctrl + Shift + V. This shortcut is equivalent to the Paste Special > Values operation.

Shortcut Win Mac
Paste values Ctrl Shift V ⌘ ⇧ V

Toggle autofilter

Using Excel's filters? Remember this shortcut. On the surface, it's simple: one keystroke toggles filters on and off. But here's the clever bit: turning off the autofilter also wipes out any active filters. Translation? If you've got filters stacked on filters and just want to start fresh, hit the shortcut twice: once to nuke everything, once to bring back a clean slate. It's like an "undo all filters" button that Excel forgot to include. Way faster than clicking through dropdown menus like some kind of medieval peasant*.

Shortcut Win Mac
Toggle Autofilter Ctrl Shift L ⌘ ⇧ F

* To be clear, medieval peasants did not have drop-down menus to worry about.

Insert table

If you're not using Excel Tables, you should be. Tables give you structured references, dynamic ranges, automatic formatting, built-in filters, and easy totals. And the fastest way to create one is with this shortcut. Select any cell in your data and press Control + T. Excel will detect the range, ask you to confirm, and convert your data into a proper table. Once you start using tables, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them.

Shortcut Win Mac
Insert table Ctrl T ⌘ T

Video: Shortcuts for Excel Tables

Undo / Redo

You probably already use Undo, but it's worth remembering that Excel supports multiple levels of undo, up to 100 steps in most versions. That means you can walk back through a long chain of changes if something goes sideways. Redo is equally useful: it lets you reapply any action you just undid. Together, they let you experiment freely. Remember that some actions in Excel (like deleting a sheet) have no undo.

Shortcut Win Mac
Undo Ctrl Z ⌘ Z
Redo Ctrl Y ⌘ Y

Repeat last action

This shortcut is deceptively powerful. Outside of edit mode, F4 repeats whatever action you just performed. Applied bold formatting? F4 does it again. Inserted a row? F4 inserts another. Deleted a column? F4 deletes the next one. It works with formatting, inserting, deleting, and many other operations. It's like a one-key macro for your last action, and once you start using it, you'll reach for it constantly.

Shortcut Win Mac
Repeat last action F4 ⌘ Y

Note: F4 does double duty. When you're editing a formula, it toggles cell references between absolute and relative. Outside of edit mode, it repeats your last action. Context is everything.

Drag and drop

Drag and drop in Excel is more capable than most people realize. A plain drag cuts and moves cells to a new location. But add modifier keys, and you unlock a whole family of operations: copy, insert, insert a copy, or even move cells to a different worksheet. These are mouse shortcuts, not keyboard shortcuts, but they're too useful to ignore.

Shortcut Win Mac
Drag and cut (move) Drag Drag
Drag and copy Ctrl Drag ⌥ Drag
Drag and insert Shift Drag ⇧ Drag
Drag and insert copy Ctrl Shift Drag ⌥ ⇧ Drag

Drag and insert is particularly handy for moving rows and columns around without messing up other data. However, it's a slippery shortcut that takes some practice...try it!

Video: Shortcuts for drag and drop

FORMATTING

Format Cells dialog box

This shortcut is a gateway to many formatting options. When regular cells are selected, it displays the Format Cells dialog box with the last tab used automatically selected. This is a very fast way to access fonts, borders, fills, alignment, and number formats no matter where you are in Excel, and even when the ribbon is collapsed.

Shortcut Win Mac
Display Format Cells dialog Ctrl 1 ⌘ 1

Format Cells dialog box

When you're working with a chart, the same shortcut will open various formatting dialogs, depending on what you have selected. For example, if you have the chart area selected, it will open the Format Chart Area dialog. If you have data bars selected, it will open the Format Data Series dialog, and so on. You can also use this shortcut when working with shapes and SmartArt.

Note: Special thanks to Excel charts guru Jon Peltier for pointing out to me many years ago that Control + 1 is not just for formatting cells!

Give this shortcut a try before you hunt down a formatting option in the ribbon. It's a fast way to get to many formatting options, and it works even when the ribbon is collapsed.

Video: Shortcuts for formatting

Bold, italic, underline

Boring, yet essential shortcuts for bold, italic, and underline.

Shortcut Win Mac
Bold Ctrl B ⌘ B
Italic Ctrl I ⌘ I
Underline Ctrl U ⌘ U

You can also use these shortcuts to format specific words and characters. Just double click the cell to enter edit mode, select the text you want to format, and use these shortcuts.

Strikethrough

This one makes the list because it's surprisingly hard to find. Strikethrough isn't on the ribbon by default, so you either have to dig through the Format Cells dialog or know the shortcut. And a lot of people need it for crossing off completed items, marking data as obsolete, or just visually flagging something without deleting it.

Shortcut Win Mac
Strikethrough Ctrl 5 ⌘ ⇧ X

Number formats

Numbers are the foundation of Excel, and how they appear is controlled by number formats. The shortcuts below let you quickly apply seven common number formats without touching the ribbon.

Shortcut Win Mac
General format Ctrl Shift ~ ⌃ ⇧ ~
Currency format Ctrl Shift $ ⌃ ⇧ $
Percentage format Ctrl Shift % ⌃ ⇧ %
Scientific format Ctrl Shift ^ ⌃ ⇧ ^
Date format Ctrl Shift # ⌃ ⇧ #
Time format Ctrl Shift @ ⌃ ⇧ @
Number format Ctrl Shift ! ⌃ ⇧ !

Each shortcut follows the same pattern: Control + Shift + [symbol]. With a bit of practice, you'll get the idea quickly. Note that "Accounting format" is conspicuously absent.

Video: Shortcuts for number formats

FORMULAS

Toggle absolute/relative reference

If you work regularly with formulas and cell addresses, this shortcut will save you a lot of tedious editing. To use the shortcut, position the cursor in or next to a cell reference you want to change. Then press F4 (Mac: Command + T). Each time you apply the shortcut, Excel will "rotate" one step through relative and absolute options. Starting with a relative reference, the rotation order works like this: absolute, row locked, column locked, relative. So, for example, for the reference A1, you'll see: $A$1, A$1, $A1, and, finally, A1 again.

Shortcut Win Mac
Toggle absolute and relative references F4 ⌘ T

Video: Speed run through 20+ formula tips

Autosum selected cells

Autosum works on both rows and columns. Simply select an empty cell to the right or below the cells you want to sum, and type Alt + = (Mac: Command + Shift + T). Excel will guess the range you are trying to sum and insert the SUM function in one step. For more control, first select the range you intend to sum, including the cell where you'd like the SUM function to be. This prevents Excel from guessing wrong about the range in cases where there are blanks or text values in the sum range.

Shortcut Win Mac
Autosum Alt = ⌘ ⇧ T

For even more satisfaction, you can have Excel insert multiple SUM functions at the same time. To sum multiple columns, select a range of empty cells below the columns. To sum multiple rows, select a range of empty cells in a column to the right of the rows. For the ultimate in shortcut satisfaction, you can have Excel add SUM formulas for an entire table in one step. Select a full table of numbers, including empty cells below the table and to the right of the table. Then use this shortcut:

Autosum - column and row totals at the same time with one keystroke

Excel will add a SUM function at the bottom of each column, at the right of each row, and at the lower right corner of the range, giving you column totals, row totals, and a grand total all in one step. In the world of Excel shortcuts, it doesn't get much better than that.

Toggle formulas on and off

It can often be handy to quickly see all the formulas in a worksheet, without clicking into each cell. By using Control + ', you can display all formulas in a worksheet at once. To dismiss the formulas and show the results of the formulas again, type Control + ' a second time.

This gives you a fast way to audit a worksheet. You can see where formulas are used and check for consistency at the same time.

Shortcut Win Mac
Toggle formulas on and off Ctrl ' ⌘ '

Video: Shortcuts for formulas

Insert function arguments

This shortcut is a bit of a sleeper. You don't see it mentioned much, but it's pretty cool. What it does: when you're entering a function, after Excel has recognized the function name, typing Control + Shift + A (both platforms) will cause Excel to enter placeholders for all arguments. For example, if you type "=DATE(" and then use Control + Shift + A, Excel gives you "=DATE(year,month,day)". You can then double-click each argument and change it to the address or value you need.

Shortcut Win Mac
Insert function arguments Ctrl Shift A ⌘ ⇧ A

Video: Shortcuts for functions

Paste name into formula

When you're editing a complex formula, the last thing you need is to leave edit mode to go find the name of a named range or constant. With F3, you don't need to. Just press F3 and Excel will open the named range dialog box so that you can paste in the name you need.

Shortcut Win Mac
Paste name into formula F3  

Video: Shortcuts for named ranges

Accept function with autocomplete

When you're entering a function, Excel will try to guess the name of the function you want, and present an autocomplete list for you to select from. The question is, how do you accept one of the options displayed and yet still stay in edit mode? The trick is to use the tab key. When you press tab, Excel adds any parentheses as needed, then leaves the formula bar active so that you can fill in the arguments as needed. On a Mac, you need to use the down arrow key first to select the function you want, then Tab.

Shortcut Win Mac
Accept function with autocomplete Tab Tab

WORKING WITH THE GRID

Insert rows / columns

To insert a row or column with a keyboard shortcut, you need to first select an entire row or column, respectively. The shortcut is the same whether you are inserting rows or columns:

  • With a laptop keyboard, use Control Shift +.
  • With a full keyboard, use Control +

With an entire row selected, this shortcut will insert a row above the selected row. With an entire column selected, this shortcut will insert a column to the left of the selected column.

You can also insert multiple rows and columns. Just select the number of rows or columns you want to insert before using the shortcut.

As already mentioned, you can use a keyboard shortcut to select entire rows or columns: Shift + Space to select a row, Control + Space to select a column.

Shortcut Win Mac
Insert rows Ctrl Shift + ⌘ ⇧ +
Insert columns Ctrl Shift + ⌘ ⇧ +

Delete rows / columns

Like inserting rows or columns, the key to deleting rows and columns is to first select an entire row or column. Once you have a row or column selected, the shortcut for deleting rows is the same as for deleting columns: Control + - (both platforms).

With this same shortcut, you can also delete multiple rows and columns. Just select the number of rows or columns you want to delete, then use Control + -.

Note: if you don't have an entire row or column selected when you use Control + -, Excel will present the Delete dialog box, which contains options for deleting rows and columns, and for shifting cells.

Shortcut Win Mac
Delete rows Ctrl - ⌘ -
Delete columns Ctrl - ⌘ -

Working with entire rows and columns has benefits.

  • Inserting rows and columns is a great way to organize data quickly and safely. By adding an entire row or column, there's no chance you'll accidentally push cells out of alignment somewhere else, because all cells are shifted the same amount.
  • In a similar way, deleting columns and rows is a great way to clean up a worksheet quickly. In one fell swoop, you can slice out tons of junk that would be tedious to clean up manually.

Before you start tidying up rows or columns that contain nothing useful, ask yourself: Can I just remove this stuff by deleting rows or columns? If so, then do it! Excel doesn't care how many rows or columns you delete. It will silently replace deleted rows and columns with fresh copies.

Video: Shortcuts to insert and delete rows and columns

Hide and unhide columns

To hide one or more columns, use the shortcut Control + 0 (both platforms). Any columns that intersect the current selection will be hidden. If you prefer, you can also first select entire columns before using this shortcut.

Note that column letters on either side of hidden columns will appear in blue.

To unhide columns, you must first select cells that span either side of the hidden column, or select columns that span the hidden column(s). Then use the keyboard shortcut Control + Shift + 0.

Note that you are just adding Shift to the shortcut for hiding a column.

Shortcut Win Mac
Hide columns Ctrl 0 ⌃ 0
Unhide columns Ctrl Shift 0 ⌃ ⇧ 0

Hide and unhide rows

To hide one or more rows, use the shortcut Control + 9 (both platforms). Any rows that intersect the current selection will be hidden. You can also first select one or more entire rows if you prefer.

Note that row numbers on either side of hidden rows will appear in blue.

To unhide rows, you must first select rows that span either side of the hidden row, or select entire rows that span the hidden row(s). Then use the keyboard shortcut Control + Shift + 9.

Note that you are just adding Shift to the shortcut for hiding a row.

Shortcut Win Mac
Hide rows Ctrl 9 ⌃ 9
Unhide rows Ctrl Shift 9 ⌃ ⇧ 9

Video: Shortcuts to hide and unhide rows and columns

CHARTS

Create an embedded chart

To create an embedded chart, first select the data that makes up the chart, including any labels. Then use the keyboard shortcut Alt + F1 (Mac: Fn + Option + F1). Excel will create a new chart on the same worksheet, using your current default chart settings.

Shortcut Win Mac
Create embedded chart Alt F1 Fn ⌥ F1

Create chart in new worksheet

To create a chart on a new sheet, first select the data that makes up the chart. Then use the keyboard shortcut F11 (Mac: Fn + F11). Excel will create a chart in a new sheet based on your current default chart settings. This is a great way to sanity-check data in your worksheet.

Shortcut Win Mac
Create chart in new worksheet F11 Fn F11

Video: Shortcuts for charts

Excel shortcut resources

We maintain several resources to help you master Excel's many shortcuts:

 

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Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.

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