Basic Keyboard Shortcut for Excel
| Keystroke / Shortcut | Function |
| Ctrl + N | Create a new workbook. |
| Ctrl + O | Open an existing workbook. |
| Ctrl + S | Save the active workbook. |
| F12 | Save the active workbook under a new name, displays the Save as dialog box. |
| Ctrl + C | Copy the contents of the selected cells to Clipboard. |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the contents of the selected cells to Clipboard. |
| Ctrl + V | Insert the contents of the Clipboard into the selected cell. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo your last action. |
| Ctrl + P | Open the “Print” dialog / print preview window. |
| Ctrl + F4 / Ctrl + W | Close the active workbook. |
Most Used Keyboard Shortcut for Data Entry in Excel
|
Function |
Keystroke / Shortcut |
Notes |
| Edit the current cell. |
F2 |
Press F2 to edit the current cell. |
| Enter a new line in Cell |
Alt + Enter |
To enter new line while editing (typing) the cell, press Alt + Enter. |
| Enter Data and move down |
Enter |
Press Enter After entering data on a cell, to move the cursor down by one cell. |
| Enter Data and move up |
Shift + Enter |
Press Shift + Enter After filling data on a cell, to move the cursor above the current cell. |
| Enter Data and move right |
Tab |
Press Tab after filling data on a cell, to move the cursor right to the current cell. |
| Enter Data and move left |
Shift + Tab |
Press Enter + Tab after filling data on a cell, to move the cursor below the current cell. |
| Complete entry and stay in same cell |
Ctrl + Enter |
Press Ctrl + Enter After filling data on a cell, to stay in cell. |
| Enter same data in multiple cells |
Ctrl + Enter |
Select multiple cells and enter the data on one cell then Press Ctrl +Enter to enter the same data in all cells in the selection at once. |
| Insert current date |
Ctrl + ; |
To Insert the current date in selected cell press Ctrl+; |
| Insert current time |
Ctrl + Shift + : |
To Insert the current time in selected cell press Ctrl +shift+: . |
| Duplicate of upper cell |
Ctrl + D |
To make a copy of upper cell press Ctrl + D on down cell. |
| Total Calculation |
Alt + = |
Calculate total sum of cell above in a column by pressing Alt + = |
| Duplicate of upper row |
Ctrl + D |
If we make a selection of whole row before pressing Ctrl + D on down row then it will make duplicates of upper row at once. Note: We can also make a copy of cells by selecting cells and dragging the cursor from the corner of the selected cell. |
| Copy from cell left |
Ctrl + R |
Pressing Ctrl + R will make duplicate from left cell to right cell. |
| Copy formula from the cell above |
Ctrl + ‘ |
To copy the formula from upper cell press Ctrl + ‘ . |
| Copy value from the cell above |
Ctrl + Shift + “ |
To copy only result of some formula from upper cell, press Ctrl+ shift+”. |
| Open paste special after copying. |
Ctrl + Shift + V |
After copying something from cell press Ctrl + Shift + V to open “Paste special” dialog |
| Add hyperlink |
Ctrl + K |
To add a hyperlink on any cell press Ctrl+K. |
| Move cursor from one edge cell to another edge on actual data consisting area of excel. |
Ctrl + Arrow keys |
To move the cursor from top cell to bottom cell on actual data consisting area, press Ctrl + down arrow key. To move the cursor from bottom cell to top cell on actual data consisting area, press Ctrl + UP arrow key. |
| Select the entire column |
Ctrl + Space |
Pressing Ctrl + Space on cell will selcect entire column of respective cell. |
| Select the entire row |
Shift + Space |
Pressing Shift + Space on cell will selcect entire row of respective cell. |
| Select Worksheet |
Ctrl + A |
Press Ctrl + A once to select the table that contain Cursor and Ctrl + A multiple times to select entire worksheet |
| Selecting row/column/table on current table |
Ctrl +Shift + Arrow keys |
Use combination of Ctrl +Shift + Arrow keys to make selection on current table. |
| Open the “Format Cells” dialog. |
Ctrl + 1 |
To open Format cell option to select cell type like number, text, time, currency etc. Press Ctrl + 1 ( “1” from left of keyboard, not from Numeric Pad). |
| Convert selected cells into a table |
Ctrl + T |
To convert selected cell into table press Ctrl + T . |
