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5 Shortcuts for you, one for every weekday [Awesome August]

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Let’s kick start our Awesome August 2016 with a simple but very useful set of shortcuts. 5 shortcuts, one for each weekday.

5 Keyboard shortcuts for you

  1. Monday ALT + M N: Opens name manager. Very handy, if you have quite a few range names and want to edit / manage them. Remember, this is a sequence shortcut, that means, you press ALT M, let go of both keys and then press N.
  2. Tuesday CTRL + T: Create a new table from data in current region. For more on tables, check out our Introduction to Excel Tables page.
  3. Wednesday CTRL + W: Close the current workbook, while keeping Excel open.
  4. Thursday ALT + T O: Opens Excel options. Very easy to remember too.
  5. Friday CTRL F: Fridays can be hard to concentrate. Use CTRL+F to find what you want in the current workbook. Use CTRL+H if you wish to do a find replace.

Bonus for weekends – CTRL+S: Save you work before you vanish for the weekend using the CTRL+S shortcut.

That is all for now. If you are looking for more shortcuts, check out our comprehensive Excel keyboard shortcut list.

What are your favorite Excel shortcuts?

Tell me and rest of our readers what are your most favorite and useful Excel shortcuts. Post them in the comments section.

This post is part of our Awesome August Excel Festival.

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20 Responses to “5 Shortcuts for you, one for every weekday [Awesome August]”

  1. Some shortcuts are so automatic that I barely realize what my fingers are doing!
    F9 audit part of a long formula. Combine with Ctrl Z (or Esc) to change value back to formula.
    F2 edit mode for formulas (also formulas in conditional formatting)
    F3 past a name into a formula
    F4 toggles absolute and relative references
    ALT D E F this converts a column from text to numbers
    Ctrl Backspace i learned this shortcut from Mike Girvin a couple of years ago. It avoids unnecessary scrolling
    Ctrl ; enters the current date. I also use this to determine what the default date looks like (when it's not my laptop)
    ....so many more but I've got to drink my coffee and get back to Excel!
    Cheers,
    Kevin Lehrbass

  2. Paranam Kid says:

    CTRL+W: didn't know that one, useful for me because I always feel a bit of frustration when I open the last workbook, then have to open another one & wait for Excel to load, which takes some time due to add-ins.

    Alt+T O = Alt+F T. Prefer the latter, it is more visual.

    Alt+I R = insert row
    Alt+I C = insert column

    • Vinodh says:

      CTRL-F4 is another way to only close the current workbook while leaving Excel open, and for me it's easier to remember since ALT-F4 means 'close program'. And also CTRL-F4 works in other programs as well. Dunno if the same goes for CTRL-W

  3. David N says:

    Why not use Ctrl+F3 to display the Name Manager?

  4. Chad says:

    Alt + E + S = Paste Special

    Alt+F11 = open VBA side if you are into that side of excel

    Ctrl + Space = Select Column

    Shift +Space = Select Row

    Ctrl + ArrowKey = Move in that direction to end/start of data

    Ctrl + End = Moves to last cell that has/had data(can reset this by saving if you have deleted things) add in Shift to select from where you are to last cell

    Ctrl + Home = Move to A1(This changes with Freeze panes

    • David N says:

      Ctrl+Alt+V will also bring up the Paste Special dialog (in all of the Office apps)

    • adivyom says:

      Chad, you are my savior with the "Alt+E+S" shortcut. My Evernote is almost always open and "Ctrl+Alt+V" works on Evernote as well and I don't know why Windows always gives precedence to Evernote over Excel.

  5. Terp says:

    Great post! My favorite topic so I can't restrain myself. Shortcuts below can all be done with the left hand on the keyboard and right hand on the mouse (I like keeping my right hand on the mouse):

    Alt/Ribbon shortcuts:
    Alt-F-R to open Recent files
    Alt-F-A to Save As (2013)
    Alt-F-A-B to Save As (2010)
    Alt-F-D-A to Save & Send (Excel 2010) (Alt-F-H-E-A in 2013)
    Alt-F-X to Exit Excel
    Alt-A-T to add a Filter
    Alt-A-C to Clear Filter
    Alt-E-A-C to Clear Contents
    Alt-E-A-A to Clear All (including formats)
    Alt-W-F-F to Freeze Panes
    Alt-A-S-A to Sort Ascending
    Alt-A-S-D to Sort Descending
    Alt-R-C for New Comment
    Alt-R-T to Edit Comment
    Alt-R-D to Delete Comment

    "Hybrid" shortcuts that use both the mouse and keyboard ("RC" stands for Right-Click):
    RC-F for Format Cells (a little faster than Ctrl+1)
    RC-D for Delete
    RC-E to Insert Copied Cells

    Hybrid Paste Special shortcuts (after you've copied something):
    RC-V to Paste Values
    RC-R to Paste Formatting
    RC-S for first Paste Special Sub-Menu
    RC-S-S for second Paste Special Sub-Menu (the pop-up) (or use Alt-E-S)
    RC-S-T to Transpose
    RC-S-S-V-D- to Add Zero to convert text to numbers (after copying blank cell)
    RC-F-Spacebar to Paste Formulas

    Ctrl+F1 to hide/unhide ribbon
    Alt+F1 for New Chart

    Navigation/Selection:
    Ctrl+A to Select All
    Ctrl+Shift+End/Home to Select everything to End or Home
    Ctrl+spin-mouse-wheel to Zoom in/out (to inspect what you've selected)
    Ctrl+G to Go To specific cell
    Ctrl+[ to go to Direct Precedent -- great when toggled with Ctrl+G to go back and forth -- can go between different worksheets
    Alt-W-W to Switch Windows
    Alt-Tab or Alt-Tab-Tab to Switch Windows (can be tricky)

    Plus you can customize your QAT and get some easy Alt shortcuts. The icons on the left will be Alt-1, Alt-2, Alt-3, etc. Put frequently used icons there.

    • Terp says:

      Correction:
      Alt-F-A to Save As (2010)
      Alt-F-A-B to Save As (2013)
      RC-S-S-V-D- to Add Zero

      Also, you can use the Menu Key (MK) instead of Right-Clicking (RC) if you prefer keeping both hands on the keyboard.

    • Aquayum says:

      Wow, have to say your short cuts are pretty awesome. I never thought about using just the left hand to do short cuts while the right hand on the mouse.

      I use short cuts alot, although mostly with both hands. Now I'll try just using the left hand where applicable.

      Also the mouse and letter combinations. That's quality short cuts!

    • f(x)dx says:

      Alt-A-T to add a Filter
      Alt-A-C to Clear Filter

      A much easier alternative for both is SHIFT+CTRL+L

  6. Uri Nusinow says:

    Alt + D L : Data validation dialog
    If choosing validation criteria "allow list ", press F3 in "source" to get to named arrays .

  7. efand says:

    Ctrl+F3 for Name Manager

    F4 for repeated action, though Ctrl+Y gives the same effect, too

  8. Vinodh says:

    I was going to post CTRL-T as one of my favorite shortcuts in Excel 2010, to toggle between 'formula view' and regular. But in your original post, you already mentioned it to create a table. Weird... Or could the different meaning lie in the fact that I'm working with a Dutch Excel? But that doesn't really make sense, as other shortcuts are the same CTRL-P = print, CTRL-F = find etc.

  9. f(x)dx says:

    I find below shorcuts very useful in various situations:
    * CTRL+': copies the exact formula from the cell above
    * CTRL+SHIFT+' (OR CTRL+" if you prefer): copies the value from the cell above (much easier than Paste Speacial -> Values)
    * SHIFT+F3: brings the Insert Function window
    * CTRL+SHIFT+1: formats number as # ##0.00
    * CTRL+SHIFT+': formats number as 0%
    * CTRL+SHIFT+~: formats number as General
    * CTRL+{: traces the precedent cells or areas of a formula. Very useful! It also opens a file if the preceding cell is in external file.
    * CTRL+}: traces the dependent cell or areas
    However these shortcuts have some limitations compared to Formula Auditing tool
    * F5: brings the 'Go to' window
    * F7: brings a spell check window that helps to check the text in selected cells (or entire sheet) for any typing errors.
    * F11: instantly creates a bar chart in new sheet

    I also believe that repeating CTRL+S every 5-10 minutes could save you a lot of time, effort and nerves. Especially when dealing with complex calculations.

  10. Bharat Bhartia says:

    Thanks for this Articles....

  11. adivyom says:

    "ALT + TO very easy to remember too".
    Nice one Chandoo!

  12. adivyom says:

    "Ctrl + Shift + ~" applies General formatting to cells--a very handy shortcut.

  13. Rohit Singh says:

    for paste value same formula cell press F2 then F9...

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