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Do you want to work faster in Excel? Learning the top 90 Excel shortcuts is an easy way to save time and boost your productivity.
These shortcuts help you move through spreadsheets, format cells, and enter data more quickly. By mastering the best Excel keyboard shortcuts, you can simplify repetitive tasks like copying, pasting, and using formulas.
So check out our list of shortcuts to start working smarter in Excel.
Key Takeaways
- Helpful Excel shortcuts let you work faster and reduce mouse usage, boosting your productivity.
- The Excel top shortcut keys simplify tasks like navigating, formatting, and editing, helping you stay focused on your work.
- Shortcuts like Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Ctrl+Z make repetitive tasks like copying, pasting, and undoing much quicker.
- Using shortcut Excel formulas, such as Ctrl+` to show formulas or Ctrl+Apostrophe to copy a formula, helps speed up formula-related tasks.
- Whether you’re using Windows or Mac, learning these Excel tips and shortcuts will make your workflow smoother and less tiring.
What Are Excel Shortcuts & Why They Make Your Life Easier
Whether you’re working with a small data set or a huge spreadsheet, helpful Excel shortcuts will save you time and effort.
Using Excel shortcuts is one of the easiest ways to speed up your work and get more done, especially when you’re working with huge spreadsheets or doing the same tasks over and over again.
Whether you’re on Windows or Mac, knowing MS Excel shortcut commands helps you avoid relying too much on your mouse or trackpad.
[/su_accordion] In short, Excel shortcuts help you work faster, smarter, and more comfortably, no matter if you’re using Windows or Mac. They allow you to keep your focus on your work rather than getting bogged down by the software.Top 90 Excel Shortcuts You Must Know in 2025
Excel is full of useful tools, and learning the right shortcuts can help you navigate your spreadsheets more quickly and easily.
Below, we’ve grouped the most popular Excel shortcuts into categories so you can easily find the best ones to suit your needs and speed up your work.
Navigating Worksheets & Workbooks
Here are some of the most common Excel shortcuts for navigating between worksheets and workbooks:
| Action | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Close a workbook | Ctrl+W | Cmd+W |
| Open a workbook | Ctrl+O | Cmd+O |
| Go to the Home tab | Alt+H | N/A |
| Go to the Insert tab | Alt+N | N/A |
| Go to the Page Layout tab | Alt+P | N/A |
| Go to the Data tab | Alt+A | N/A |
| Go to the View tab | Alt+W | N/A |
| Go to the Formula tab | Alt+M | N/A |
| Move to the previous item in a worksheet, dialog box, or interface | Shift+Tab | Shift+Tab |
| Move one cell up, down, left, or right | Arrow keys | Arrow keys |
| Move to the edge of the current data area | Ctrl+Arrow key | Cmd+Arrow key |
| Move to the last used cell on the worksheet | Ctrl+End | Control+Fn+Right arrow key |
| Move to the beginning of a worksheet | Ctrl+Home | Control+Fn+Left arrow key |
| Move one screen down in a worksheet | Page down | Fn+Down arrow key |
| Move one screen to the right in a worksheet | Alt+Page down | Fn+Option+Down arrow key |
| Move one screen up in a worksheet | Page up | Fn+Up arrow key |
| Move one screen to the left in a worksheet | Alt+Page up | Fn+Option+Up arrow key |
| Move to the previous sheet in a workbook | Ctrl+Page up | Option+Left arrow key |
| Move to the next sheet in a workbook | Ctrl+Page down | Option+Right arrow key |
Selecting & Editing Data
Here are some of the best Excel keyboard shortcuts that will help you streamline data management:
| Action | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Copy selection | Ctrl+C | Cmd+C |
| Paste selection | Ctrl+V | Cmd+V |
| Undo recent action | Ctrl+Z | Cmd+Z |
| Clear cell contents | Delete | Delete |
| Cut selection | Ctrl+X | Cmd+X |
| Repeat the last command or action | Ctrl+Y | Cmd+Y |
| Select the current region if the worksheet has data. Press again to expand the selection | Ctrl+A | Cmd+A |
| Delete column | Alt+H, D, C | N/A |
| Hide the selected rows | Ctrl+9 | Cmd+Left parenthesis |
| Hide the selected columns | Ctrl+0 | Cmd+Right parenthesis |
| Select the active tab on the ribbon and activate the access keys | Alt or F10 | N/A |
| Switch focus between the worksheet, ribbon, task pane, status bar, and commands in the add-in pane | Tab key | F6 |
| Move up, down, left, or right on the ribbon | Arrow keys | N/A |
| Open the context menu | Shift+F10 | Shift+F10 |
| Select the current and next sheet in a workbook | Ctrl+Shift+Page down | N/A |
| Select the current and previous sheet in a workbook | Ctrl+Shift+Page up | N/A |
| Extend the selection of cells by one cell | Shift+Arrow key | Shift+Arrow key |
| Extend the selection to the last non-blank cell in the same row or column or to the next non-blank cell | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow key | Shift+Cmd+Arrow key |
| Add a non-adjacent cell or range to the selection using arrow keys | Shift+F8 | Shift+F8 |
| Select an entire column | Ctrl+Spacebar | Control+Spacebar |
| Select an entire row | Shift+Spacebar | Shift+Spacebar |
| Select all objects on a worksheet when an object is selected | Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar | N/A |
| Extend the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet | Ctrl+Shift+Home | Control+Shift+Fn+Left arrow key |
Working With Data
This is a list of the most common Excel shortcuts related to working with data:
| Action | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh data in the current worksheet | Ctrl+F5 | N/A |
| Refresh all data in the workbook | Ctrl+Alt+F5 | N/A |
| Show the Quick Analysis options for selected cells | Ctrl+Q | N/A |
| Open the Create Table dialog box | Ctrl+T | Cmd+T |
| Use Paste Special | Ctrl+Alt+V | Cmd+Control+V |
| Open the Insert dialog box to add blank cells | Ctrl+Shift+Plus sign | Cmd+Shift+Plus sign |
| Open the Delete dialog box to remove selected cells | Ctrl+Minus sign | Cmd+Minus sign |
| Define a name to use in references | Alt+M, M, D | Control+L |
| Insert the AutoSum formula | Alt+Equals sign | Shift+Cmd+T |
| Open the Insert hyperlink dialog box | Ctrl+K | Cmd+K |
| Check spelling in the active worksheet or selected range | F7 | F7 |
| Use Flash Fill to detect patterns and fill the current column | Ctrl+E | Control+E |
| Create an embedded chart from the selected data | Alt+F1 | N/A |
| Create a chart in a separate sheet from the selected data | F11 | F11 |
Formulas & Functions
Here’s a list of shortcut Excel formulas to save you time and effort:
| Action | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Go to the Formula tab | Alt+M | N/A |
| Switch between showing cell values or formulas | Ctrl+Grave accent (`) | Control+Grave accent (`) |
| Copy a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the formula bar | Ctrl+Apostrophe (‘) | Control+Apostrophe (‘) |
| Insert a function | Shift+F3 | Shift+F3 |
| Add argument names and parentheses when the cursor is next to a function name in a formula | Ctrl+Shift+A | N/A |
| Cycle through all combinations of absolute and relative references in a formula | F4 | F4 |
| Calculate all worksheets in all open workbooks | F9 | Control+Option+F9 |
| Calculate the active worksheet | Shift+F9 | Shift+F9 |
| Check dependent formulas and calculate all cells in open workbooks, including those not marked for calculation | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F9 | Control+Option+Shift+F9 |
| Expand or collapse the formula bar | Ctrl+Shift+U | Control+Shift+U |
| Edit the active cell | F2 | F2 |
| Cancel an entry in the cell or formula bar | Esc | Esc |
| Complete an entry in the formula bar and move to the cell below | Enter | Enter |
| Move the cursor to the end of the text when in the formula bar | Ctrl+End | N/A |
Formatting Cells
Here, we have a list of the basic Excel shortcuts for formatting cells:
| Action | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Center align cell contents | Alt+H, A, C | Cmd+E |
| Choose a fill color | Alt+H, H | N/A |
| Italicize text or remove italics | Ctrl+I | Cmd+I |
| Bold text or remove bold formatting | Ctrl+B | Cmd+B |
| Underline text or remove underline | Ctrl+U | Cmd+U |
| Apply or remove strikethrough | Ctrl+5 | Shift+Cmd+X |
| Add an outline border to the selected cells | Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand sign | Cmd+Option+Zero |
| Remove the outline border from the selected cells | Ctrl+Shift+Underscore | Cmd+Option+Hyphen |
| Open the Format Cells dialog box | Ctrl+1 | Cmd+1 |
| Format fonts in the Format Cells dialog box | Ctrl+Shift+F | N/A |
| Apply the General number format | Ctrl+Shift+Tilde sign (~) | Control+Shift+Tilde (~) |
| Apply the Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers in parentheses) | Ctrl+Shift+Dollar sign | Control+Shift+Dollar sign |
| Apply the Percentage format with no decimal places | Ctrl+Shift+Percent sign | Control+Shift+Percent sign |
| Apply the Scientific number format with two decimal places | Ctrl+Shift+Caret sign (^) | Control+Shift+Caret (^) |
| Apply the Date format with the day, month, and year | Ctrl+Shift+Number sign (#) | Control+Shift+Number sign (#) |
| Apply the Time format with hour, minute, and AM or PM | Ctrl+Shift+At sign (@) | Control+Shift+At sign (@) |
| Apply the Number format with two decimal places, a thousand separator, and a minus sign for negative values | Ctrl+Shift+Exclamation point (!) | Control+Shift+Exclamation point (!) |
| Switch between hiding objects, showing objects, and showing placeholders for objects | Ctrl+6 | Control+6 |
Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
To create this Excel shortcuts cheat sheet, we’ve focused on the most practical and commonly used actions for daily Excel tasks.
Excel offers many shortcuts, but you will obviously not use all of them daily. Therefore, the list below leaves out more advanced ones. Instead, we are providing an Excel tips and tricks cheat sheet that can help users work faster and more efficiently every day.
We chose the most useful Excel shortcuts based on the following criteria:
- Core functionality: Tasks like copying, pasting, undoing, saving, moving between sheets, and basic formatting are important for most users.
- Time-saving shortcuts: Shortcuts that let you avoid using the mouse and help you work faster, such as selecting entire rows or columns, quickly formatting cells, and moving around worksheets.
- Universal utility: Shortcuts that are useful to many types of Excel users, whether they’re creating reports, handling data, or doing calculations.
The Bottom Line
Learning the top 90 Excel shortcuts is a great way to work faster and get more done in less time. These Excel tips and shortcuts help you skip repetitive steps like copying, pasting, or switching between sheets. Plus, you won’t need to use the mouse as much, so you can stay focused on your work.
Overall, using shortcuts makes Excel simpler and helps you be more productive, no matter your skill level.
