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30 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts That Save Hours

Keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way to level up your Excel productivity. Memorising even 10 of these will save you hours every week. Here are the 30 most impactful shortcuts, grouped by category.

Navigation

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+HomeJump to cell A1
Ctrl+EndJump to last used cell
Ctrl+ArrowJump to edge of data region
Ctrl+GGo To — navigate to specific cell or range
Ctrl+Page Up/DownSwitch between worksheet tabs

Selection

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+Shift+ArrowSelect to edge of data region
Ctrl+SpaceSelect entire column
Shift+SpaceSelect entire row
Ctrl+ASelect all (or current data region)
Ctrl+Shift+EndSelect from current cell to last used cell

Editing

ShortcutAction
F2Edit active cell
Ctrl+DFill down (copy cell above)
Ctrl+RFill right (copy cell to the left)
Ctrl+EnterEnter value in all selected cells
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+YUndo / Redo
Ctrl+;/code>Insert today's date
Ctrl+Shift+;Insert current time

Formatting

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+1Open Format Cells dialog
Ctrl+B / I / UBold / Italic / Underline
Ctrl+Shift+$Currency format
Ctrl+Shift+%Percentage format
Alt+H+O+IAuto-fit column width

Formulas

ShortcutAction
F4Toggle absolute/relative reference ($)
Ctrl+`Show/hide all formulas
Alt+=Auto-SUM selected range
Ctrl+Shift+EnterEnter array formula (legacy)
TabAccept formula autocomplete suggestion

Workbook & Data

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+TCreate Table from selection
Ctrl+EFlash Fill
Alt+F5Refresh pivot tables and data connections

How to Memorise These

Don't try to learn all 30 at once. Pick 5 that match your daily workflow, use them for a week until they're muscle memory, then add 5 more. In six weeks, you'll be noticeably faster.

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