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Why is F12 for the things that matter?  Because it basically performs one crucial action: SAVE.

• F12 alone – Save as (Alt+F2 does the same)
• Ctrl+F12 – Save as (same as F12 alone)
• Shift+F12 – Save (Ctrl+S does the same and is preferable)
• Ctrl+Shift+F12 – Go to “Print Preview and Print” (Ctrl+P does the same and is preferable)

I believe the above descriptions should be simple and clear enough for even an Excel novice to understand.  Therefore I would rather wrapping up the Function Key series in this post.

Do you think I remember all these combinations I showed in this series??

The answer is absolutely NO.  Continue reading →

In the introductory post of Function Keys, I used F8 as an example to illustrate the situation when we thought we know English but cannot comprehend a sentence.

F8: Turns extend mode on or off. In extend mode, Extended Selection appears in the status line, and the arrow keys extend the selection.

Source: support.office.com

Actually there are there more combinations for F8.  In short,

• F8 – Extend selection
• Shift+F8 – Add to selection
• Ctrl+F8 – Resize the window of the workbook when it is not maximized
• Alt+F8 – Open the Macro dialogue box

Are they clear now?  Maybe the final two, but definitely not the first two.   Continue reading →

If you do not spell very well and your boss pays attention to spelling, please make sure you  press F7 before sending your Excel reports.  Otherwise, your boss may challenge your spelling instead of your analysis. 🙂

F7 key is mainly for word-related functions:

• F7 alone – Open the Spell Check
• Shift+F7 – Open the Research Task Pane

Ctrl+F7 – Allow you to move window of workbook when it is not maximized. Continue reading →

If you never work with mouse for your Excel work, I believe your are a true master in using F6.

If you use both mouse and keyboard like most people do,  you may probably know little about F6.

However if one day your mouse refuses to work, you will regret for not knowing what F6 does.

So what F6 does?  Take a look at the following screenshot captured from support.office.com

Got it?!  No way… Continue reading →

Two years ago, I wrote two posts about using F4.

• How to switch between Absolute and Relative reference? F4
• Another use of F4 – Repeat LAST action

Honestly, these were the only two ways I know about F4 by that time.  Now I know it is more and it’s become the most hit function keys for me… so what F4 does?

• F4 alone (contents enriched vs. the posts before)

1. Switch absolute/relative cell reference while editing formula
2. Repeat last action in general

• Ctrl+F4 – Close active workbook
• Alt+F4 or Alt+Shift+F4 – Close active program (Excel)
• Shift+F4 – Find next (What?)
• Ctrl+Shift+F4 – Find previous (What??)

Continue reading →

Among the F1-F12 keys, I use F2 most often.  Why? Because it helps me edit cell contents quickly.  On the other hand, F2 is extremely  helpful when I try to edit cell reference in chart or revising reference in Name manager.

In short, F2 key does the following:

• F2 alone – Go to edit mode
• Shftt+F2 – Insert/Edit comment
• Alt+F2 – Save as
• Alt+Shift+F2 – Save

That’s all??! Absolutely no! Continue reading →

This is the first post of the Function Keys series.  Why F1 is the must-know key for self-learner? Because it takes you to Excel Help! 🙂

Literally, the F1 key serves the following in Excel:

• F1 alone – Open “Need Assistance?”  (it may go directly to the function you want to know more about, if you know where to hit the F1 key)
• Ctrl+F1 – Show/Hide Ribbon
• Alt+F1 – Insert a chart of the current range on the same worksheet
• Alt+Shift+F1 – Insert worksheet Continue reading →

F1  F2  F3  F4  F5  F6  F7  F8  F9  F10  F11  F12

F1 to F12 are always sitting on the keyboard quietly.  How often do you use them?

In the era of Google, you may find what you need by simply searching something like “Function keys in Excel”.  Then you will probably be overloaded by the huge amount of pages found.  (Well, that happens to every search…)

When you look into the top few pages, you will likely find a list of shortcut combinations for F1 to F12 in Excel, mostly in written texts.  Unless you know Excel quite well already, there is a high chance that you still do not understand what the Function keys do in Excel after reading the descriptions.  For example:

F8: Turns extend mode on or off. In extend mode, Extended Selection appears in the status line, and the arrow keys extend the selection.

Source: support.office.com (you may find a list of shortcuts there)

Do you really understand what F8 does after reading the above?

To celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of this blog – wmfexcel.com (the first post was published on September 7, 2013, time really flies!), I am going to write a series of Function Key every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the coming weeks, one Function Key in one post.

You may wonder why I don’t put all the twelve function keys altogether in one post?  The reason is to keep you focused.  I believe it’s a better way to learn and get something practical out of it.

Please be ensure that I won’t simply copy and paste the lists to my posts.  Instead, I will try to incorporate texts (inevitably) with screenshots for better illustration.  And of course, I will add my comments and tips in usage, whenever possible.

Stay tuned! 🙂