Do you know how many keyboard shortcuts we have in Excel?  Honestly, I don’t know.  I just know the shortcuts that I need to use.  Believe it or not, from Ctrl+ A to Z, I use them all but M, because no action is assigned to Ctrl+M yet.  Having said that, I am using M codes more and more recently.  Maybe Microsoft could assign Ctrl+M as Open the Power Query Editor to complete the list.  😛

Let’s talk about the shortcuts.  Maybe you already know most of them, but do you know ALL of them?  Especially the secret use of CTRL+J? Check it out! (02:07)

You can learn all the 25 shortcuts in a 7-minute video embedded in the end of this post.

Here’s a list for quick reference.  

CTRL + A Select All (00:11)

CTRL + B Toggle BOLD (font) (00:34)

CTRL + C Copy (00:42)

CTRL + D Fill Down (00:49)

CTRL + E Flash Fill (Excel 2013 or later) (00:59)

CTRL + F Find… (01:11)

CTRL + G Go To… (01:28)  

CTRL + H Find and Replace… (01:40)

CTRL + I Toggle Italic (font) (01:56)

CTRL + J Secret way to input line break (in Find and Replace) (02:07)

CTRL + K Insert Hyperlink (02:43)

CTRL + L Insert Excel Table (same as Ctrl + T) (03:01)  (why L? because Table was formerly known as List in Excel 2003)

CTRL + M Not assigned.

CTRL + N New Workbook (03:16)

CTRL + O Open (03:25)

CTRL + P Print (03:34)

CTRL + Q Quick Analysis (Excel 2016 or later) (03:42)

CTRL + R Fill Right (04:17)

CTRL + S Save (04:30)

CTRL + T Insert Excel Table (Same as Ctrl + L) (04:36)

CTRL + U Toggle underline (font) (04:48)

CTRL + V Paste (when something is cut/copied) (04:58)

CTRL + W Close current workbook (05:12)

CTRL + X Cut (05:20)

CTRL + Y Redo (Repeat last action) (05:30)

CTRL + Z Undo (06:11)

Watch the full video here:

EndNote:

Don’t try to memorize all the shortcut keys.  This is not a memory contest.  Instead of memorizing all the shortcut keys, we should think about what actions we performed most of the time, and then look for the shortcut keys for that actions.  Followed by using it until it becomes a habit, or even a reflex.  Think about Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.  It’s so natural to use them in pair because we have been using it every day.  😛

Have you learnt some new shortcuts today?  What is your favorite shortcut?  Which shortcuts you use most?  Please share in comments.  🙂