The first step of getting awesome in Excel is to understand that you can ask Excel do things for you. This is done by speaking a special language called as “Excel Formulas”. When you write a formula or function, you are asking Excel to figure out something from the values you have. Say you want to add up a bunch of values in a range A1:A10, you can ask Excel to do this for you by writing =SUM(A1:A10) and bingo, you get the result immediately. The best part is, if your numbers change, the answer changes too.
If you are a beginner, Excel formula list can feel overwhelming. Why not? There are hundreds of different formulas in Excel. So which formulas should you learn?
This guide gives you the answer. Here is a 100+ Excel formula list for every occasion. Each box describes a problem statement, an example, result, some notes and link to learn more. Use this guide to learn formulas quickly.
Data for Excel formula list in this guide
Most formula examples shown here are self-explanatory. In some places I have used a table of data, called staff. Here is a snapshot of the Staff table. When looking a formula example, refer to this image to understand how the calculation works.
If you have never used tables before, check out Excel Tables – What are they and how to use them? to learn more.
Excel Formula List by topic
This page is rather long. So I have broken it in to sections. Click on below links to navigate or use CTRL+F on your browser to search for a function / formula how-to.
- Numbers, values, summaries and statistics
- Check things, apply business rules and logic control
- Lookup items
- Convert data
- Text values, strings, words and phrases
- Date, time and calendar
- Operations on numbers
- Check and prevent errors
- Generate randomized data
Formulas related to numbers, values, summaries and statistics
Excel offers many functions when it comes to working with numeric values. Use below example formulas and functions to work efficiently with numbers. Learn how to calculate count, sum, average and other statistical summaries from your data. Apart from the functions discussed here, you can also use operators like + (to add things), -(to subtract), *(to multiply), /(to divide), %(to convert a value to percentage), ^(to raise the power), ~(to negate a Boolean value) and brackets to create expressions.
Add some values |
|
| Example |
=SUM(5,6,9) |
| Result | 20 |
Add values from a range of cells |
|
| Example |
=SUM(A1:A5) |
| Result | 125 |
Sum up values from a table reference |
|
| Example |
=SUM(staff[Salary]) |
| Result | $ 945,000 |
Sum of numbers that meet conditions |
|
| Example |
=SUMIFS(staff[Salary], staff[Department],"Sales") |
| Result | $ 279,000 |
| Learn more about this formula: SUMIFS formula | |
Sum of numbers greater than (less than etc.) something |
|
| Example |
=SUMIFS(A1:A6, A1:A6,">25") |
| Result | 100 |
| Learn more about this formula: SUMIFS formula | |
Sum of numbers that are currently filtered |
|
| Example |
=SUBTOTAL(109,staff[Salary]) |
| Result | $ 945,000 |
| Learn more about this formula: SUBTOTAL function | |
Count of numbers that are currently filtered |
|
| Example |
=SUBTOTAL(103,staff[Name]) |
| Result | 13 |
| Learn more about this formula: SUBTOTAL function | |
Running total in a column, adjacent to original data |
|
| Type this formula in first cell and drag down to get running total. | |
| Example |
=SUM($A$1:A1) |
| Result | 10 |
Count of numbers in a range |
|
| Example |
=COUNT(A1:A6) |
| Result | 6 |
Count of all values (including text) |
|
| Example |
=COUNTA(staff[Name]) |
| Result | 13 |
Count of blank values in the input (range or table column) |
|
| Example |
=COUNTBLANK(A1:A20) |
| Result | 14 |
Count number of non-blank values |
|
| ROWS formula tells how rows are there in a range. You can also use COLUMNS | |
| Example |
=ROWS(A1:A20)-COUNTBLANK(A1:A20) |
| Result | 6 |
Count how many items have met given conditions |
|
| Example |
=COUNTIFS(staff[Department],"IT") |
| Result | 3 |
Count how many items begin with given text |
|
| * is a wild card. You can use it to match any number of letters. If you want to match a single letter, use ? | |
| Example |
=COUNTIFS(staff[Name],"J*") |
| Result | 13 |
Count how many items end with given pattern |
|
| Example |
=COUNTIFS(staff[Name],"*n") |
| Result | 4 |
Count how many items contain given word |
|
| Example |
=COUNTIFS(staff[Name],"*an*") |
| Result | 3 |
Average of given numbers |
|
| Example |
=AVERAGE(staff[Salary]) |
| Result | $ 72,692 |
| Learn more about this formula: More about Averages in your analysis | |
Average of given numbers satisfying conditions |
|
| Example |
=AVERAGEIFS(staff[Salary],staff[Department], "HR") |
| Result | $ 77,333 |
Average of positive numbers |
|
| Example |
=AVERAGEIFS(A1:A10,A1:A10,">0") |
| Result | 25.83 |
Average of numbers excluding top & bottom 10% values |
|
| Example |
=TRIMMEAN(staff[Salary],10%) |
| Result | $ 72,692 |
7 day moving average from daily data |
|
| Type this formula in first cell and drag down to get moving average. | |
| Example |
=AVERAGE(A1:A7) |
| Result | 25.83 |
| Learn more about this formula: Moving Average in Excel | |
Weighted average of numbers |
|
| A1:A6 contain values and B1:B6 contain weights | |
| Example |
=SUMPRODUCT(A1:A6,B1:B6) |
| Result | 2,550 |
| Learn more about this formula: Weighted Average Formula | |
Median of a range of values |
|
| Example |
=MEDIAN(staff[Salary]) |
| Result | $ 76,000 |
Most frequent number in a range (MODE) |
|
| If your list has multiple MODEs, use MODE.MULT to return all of them as a new list. | |
| Example |
=MODE.SNGL(1,2,3,3,2,1,1,5,6,7,3,4,8,9) |
| Result | 1 |
Statistical quartiles of given values |
|
| Use 1 for first quartile, 2 for median, 3 for third quartile. EXC means 0 & 1 are excluded when calculating quartiles. | |
| Example |
=QUARTILE.EXC(staff[Salary],1) |
| Result | $ 59,500 |
90th (or any other) percentile of given values |
|
| Example |
=PERCENTILE.EXC(staff[Salary],0.9) |
| Result | $ 89,000 |
Minimum value among a list of numbers |
|
| Example |
=MIN(A1:A6) |
| Result | 10 |
3rd smallest (or any other) among a list |
|
| Example |
=SMALL(staff[Salary],3) |
| Result | $ 59,000 |
Rank of a number in a list of values |
|
| If two numbers share a rank, then the rank will be averaged. Use RANK.EQ to return same rank for both numbers | |
| Example |
=RANK.AVG(76000, staff[Salary]) |
| Result | 7 |
Maximum value from a list of values |
|
| Example |
=MAX(staff[Salary]) |
| Result | $ 89,000 |
2nd largest value in a spreadsheet range |
|
| Example |
=LARGE(A2:A7,2) |
| Result | 30 |
Formulas to do operations on numbers
Whenever you have some numbers in a worksheet, you may want to run some operations like rounding them or extracting integer portion etc. on them. In this section, see some of the frequently used number operations.
Remainder after dividing two numbers |
|
| Example |
=MOD(31,7) |
| Result | 3 |
Round a number to nearest whole number or fraction |
|
| Example |
=ROUND(PI(),4) |
| Result | 3.1416 |
Round a number to nearest multiple of x |
|
| Example |
=MROUND(27,4) |
| Result | 28 |
Integer portion of a number |
|
| Example |
=INT(19/7) |
| Result | 2 |
Percentage change (variance) from one value to another |
|
| H4 is 35000, H5 is 38000 | |
| Example |
=H5/H4-1 |
| Result | 8.57% |
Decimal portion of a number |
|
| Example |
=MOD(PI(),1) |
| Result | 0.141592654 |
Absolute value of a number |
|
| Example |
=ABS(30-43) |
| Result | 13 |
Calculate power of one number to another |
|
| Example |
=7^3 |
| Result | 343 |
Formulas related to check things, apply business rules and logic control
Microsoft Excel has several powerful functions to check things and set up control or business logic in your workbooks. You can use IF function to write simple logic expressions or nest multiple IF functions for more complex scenarios. You can also use newly introduced IFS function to write long multi-step if function. This only works in Office 365 or Excel online. See below examples to learn more about formulas and functions to check things and apply business rules.
Check a condition and output one of the two possible values |
|
| Example |
=IF(A9>20,"Too high", "Too low") |
| Result | Too low |
| Learn more about this formula: Writing logical rules in Excel | |
Check if multiple conditions are true (AND) |
|
| Example |
=AND(A9>5,B9<20) |
| Result | FALSE |
Check if any condition is true (OR) |
|
| Example |
=OR(E10="Sales", F10>90000, D10=A9) |
| Result | FALSE |
Logical NOT check |
|
| Example |
=NOT("Sam"="Samuel")
|
| Result | TRUE |
Check if either this or that (Exclusive OR) |
|
| Will be TRUE only if either A1>10 or B1>10 but not both or neither. | |
| Example |
=XOR(A9>10, B9>10) |
| Result | FALSE |
| Learn more about this formula: More on XOR | |
Select one among multiple values |
|
| Picks a value from a list of values, in this case, picks A2 as it is the 3rd value. | |
| Example |
=CHOOSE(3,A9,B10,A10,B11) |
| Result | 0 |
| Learn more about this formula: CHOOSE Function | |
Multiple IF conditions as IFS |
|
| A9 has 7. Works only in Office 365, Office online (and may be in Excel 2019) | |
| Example |
=ifs(A9>10, "This is too high", A9>5, "This is ok", A9>2,"Almost low", A9<=2,"Really low") |
| Result | This is ok |
Check if a value is present in a list |
|
| Example |
=IF(COUNTIFS(staff[Name],"Jan")>0,"Yes, Jan is in there","No, no such person") |
| Result | Yes, Jan is in there |
Check multiple conditions as nested IF |
|
| Example |
=IF(A9>10, "This is too high",IF( A9>5, "This is ok", IF(A9>2,"Almost low", "Really low"))) |
| Result | Really low |
Check if a value is between two other values |
|
| Example |
=IF(AND(A9>=10,A9<=20),"Between 10 and 20","Nope, not between 10 and 20") |
| Result | Nope, not between 10 and 20 |
| Learn more about this formula: Between Formula | |
Is a cell blank? |
|
| Example |
=ISBLANK(A18) |
| Result | TRUE |
Is a value even? |
|
| Example |
=ISEVEN(7) |
| Result | FALSE |
Is a value odd? |
|
| Example |
=ISODD(7) |
| Result | TRUE |
Is a cell contains number? |
|
| Example |
=ISNUMBER(A9) |
| Result | FALSE |
Is a cell contains formula? |
|
| Example |
=ISFORMULA(A9) |
| Result | FALSE |
Is a cell (or formula) ends up in error? |
|
| Example |
=ISERROR(7/0) |
| Result | TRUE |
Formulas to work with text values, strings, words and phrases
While Excel is predominantly a number driven tool, we still have lots of text values in spreadsheets. Excel has many powerful and elegant text processing functions to help you extract, analyze or understand your text / string values. You can use the special operator & to combine text values or even work with newly introduced TEXTJOIN() function to combine a range of values to one. Keep in mind, this TEXTJOIN only works in Office 365 or Excel Online at the moment. In the below examples, know how to work with string / text values in your workbooks using formulas.
Convert text to lower case |
|
| Example |
=LOWER("hello")
|
| Result | hello |
Convert text to upper case |
|
| Example |
=UPPER(D3) |
| Result | JAMES |
Convert text to proper case (each word's first letter capitalized) |
|
| Example |
=PROPER("this is a long sentence")
|
| Result | This Is A Long Sentence |
Combine different text values to one text |
|
| Example |
=CONCATENATE(A3, " and ", A4) |
| Result | 30 and 25 |
Combine different text values to one text |
|
| Example |
=A3&" and "&A4 |
| Result | 30 and 25 |
Extract first few letters from a text |
|
| Example |
=LEFT("India",3)
|
| Result | Ind |
Extract last few letters from a text |
|
| Example |
=RIGHT("New Zealand",4)
|
| Result | land |
Extract middle portion from given text |
|
| Example |
=MID("United States",4,5)
|
| Result | ted S |
What is the length of given text value |
|
| Example |
=LEN("Chandoo.org")
|
| Result | 11 |
Substitute one word with another |
|
| Example |
=SUBSTITUTE("Microsoft Excel","cel","cellent")
|
| Result | Microsoft Excellent |
Replace some letters with other |
|
| Example |
=REPLACE("abc@email.com",5,1,"g")
|
| Result | abc@gmail.com |
Find if a text has another text |
|
| Example |
=FIND("soft","Microsoft Excel")
|
| Result | 6 |
Extract initials from a name |
|
| H1 contains Bill Jelen | |
| Example |
=LEFT(H1,1)&MID(H1,FIND(" ",H1)+1,1)
|
| Result | BJ |
Find out how many words are in a sentence |
|
| H2 contains "This is a very long sentence with lots of words" | |
| Example |
=LEN(H2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(H2," ",""))+1 |
| Result | 10 |
Remove unnecessary spaces from a cell |
|
| Example |
=TRIM(" chandoo. org ")
|
| Result | chandoo. org |
Remove anything after a symbol or word |
|
| H3 contains someone@something.com | |
| Example |
=LEFT(H3,FIND("@",H3)-1)
|
| Result | someone |
Formulas to work with date, time and calendar
Date and time values are very important when working with business data. That is why, Excel has many functions in this space. You can use TODAY() to figure out what is the current date or use DATE() to generate a date that you want. In the below examples, learn how to calculate some of the most common date and time related stuff using Excel.
What is today's date? |
|
| Example |
=TODAY() |
| Result | 6/27/2018 |
What is the current date & time? |
|
| Example |
=NOW() |
| Result | 6/27/2018 12:00 |
Create a date value from year, month and day |
|
| Example |
=DATE(2018,10,20) |
| Result | 10/20/2018 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Create a time value from hour, minute and second |
|
| Example |
=TIME(9,45,21) |
| Result | 9:45 AM |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Get day of month from given date |
|
| Example |
=DAY(TODAY()) |
| Result | 27 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
What month is a given date on? |
|
| Example |
=MONTH(DATEVALUE("12-July-1999"))
|
| Result | 7 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Extract year from a date |
|
| Example |
=YEAR(TODAY()) |
| Result | 2018 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Find out day of week (number) from a date |
|
| Example |
=WEEKDAY(TODAY()) |
| Result | 4 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Find out day of week (name of the day) from a date |
|
| Use DDD to see short form of day name, such as SUN, MON etc. | |
| Example |
=TEXT(TODAY(), "DDDD") |
| Result | Wednesday |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
What is the name of a month from a date? |
|
| Use MMM to see short form of month name, such as Jan, Feb etc. | |
| Example |
=TEXT(TODAY(), "MMMM") |
| Result | June |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Hour from time |
|
| Example |
=HOUR(NOW()) |
| Result | 12 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Minute from time |
|
| Example |
=MINUTE(NOW()) |
| Result | 0 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Second from time |
|
| Example |
=SECOND(NOW()) |
| Result | 2 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
What is the date after / before x months |
|
| Example |
=EDATE(TODAY(),3) |
| Result | 9/27/2018 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
What is the last date of a month? |
|
| Example |
=EOMONTH(DATE(2018,8,1),0) |
| Result | 8/31/2018 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Calculate number of days between two dates |
|
| Example |
=DATE(2018,12,1)-DATEVALUE("1-july-2018")
|
| Result | 153 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Calculate number of years between two dates |
|
| You can also use (date1-date2)/365 to calculate number of years between 2 dates | |
| Example |
=YEARFRAC(DATE(2009,9,24),TODAY(),1) |
| Result | 8.76 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Number of weeks between two dates |
|
| Example |
=INT((DATE(2018,12,1)-DATEVALUE("1-july-2018"))/7)
|
| Result | 21 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
What is the date after / before x working days (excluding weekends etc.) |
|
| This assumes Saturday & Sunday are weekends. If you have some other workweek pattern, use the 3rd parameter of WORKDAY.INTL to specify that. Likewise, you can also specify a list of special holidays (New Years Day, Diwali, Ramadan or Christmas etc.) to exclude them too | |
| Example |
=WORKDAY.INTL(TODAY(),12) |
| Result | 7/13/2018 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
How many working days are between two dates? |
|
| This assumes Saturday & Sunday are weekends. If you have some other workweek pattern, use the 3rd parameter of NETWORKDAYS.INTL to specify that. Likewise, you can also specify a list of special holidays (New Years Day, Diwali, Ramadan or Christmas etc.) to exclude them too | |
| Example |
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(TODAY(),DATE(2018,12,31)) |
| Result | 134 |
| Learn more about this formula: Working with date & time values in Excel | |
Formulas to lookup items
Lookup functions help us answer specific questions from business data, like which customer placed the order number PQ1234? You can use them to ask simple questions or combine lookup functions with other formulas in Excel to find more complex things. In these examples, learn how to write some of the most common lookup functions in Excel.
Lookup a value in a table and find corresponding items (example, salary of an employee) |
|
| Finds John in the staff table's first column and returns value from 3rd column (salary) | |
| Example |
=VLOOKUP("John", staff, 3, FALSE)
|
| Result | $ 77,000 |
| Learn more about this formula: All you want to know about VLOOKUP | |
Lookup a pattern in a table and find corresponding items (example, salary of an employee) |
|
| Example |
=VLOOKUP("Jon*", staff,2,FALSE)
|
| Result | Production |
| Learn more about this formula: VLOOKUP with wild cards | |
What is the position of a value in a list? |
|
| Example |
=MATCH(76000,staff[Salary],0) |
| Result | 10 |
| Learn more about this formula: Using MATCH formula | |
Formulas to convert one data to another type of data
Often, we end up having data that is not in the right format to do our job. You can use conversion formulas to change data from one type to another.
Convert a cell to number |
|
| Here . Is the thousand's separator and , is decimal point (i.e. European notation) | |
| Example |
=NUMBERVALUE("123.456,78",",",".")
|
| Result | 123,456.78 |
Convert a value to date |
|
| Example |
=DATEVALUE("1-jul-2018")
|
| Result | 7/1/2018 |
Convert a cell to number (another technique) |
|
| You can also +0 to a text value to convert it to number. | |
| Example |
="12456.78"*1 |
| Result | 12,456.78 |
Formulas to check and prevent errors
We can't escape bad coffee, occasionally annoying bosses and errors. Of course, Excel can't help you with first two, but it does a fine job of handling errors for us. Learn how to use the important error handling and checking functions in Excel.
Show a different value if a formula has an error |
|
| Example |
=IFERROR(VLOOKUP("Sam",staff,3,FALSE),"Employee not found")
|
| Result | Employee not found |
| Learn more about this formula: IFERROR | |
Show a different value if a formula has an NA error |
|
| Example |
=IFNA(7/0,"This will appear if the error is #N/A") |
| Result | #DIV/0! |
Is a cell (or formula) ends up in error? |
|
| Example |
=ISERROR(7/0) |
| Result | TRUE |
Safely divide one number with another |
|
| Example |
=IF(A2=0,"",A1/A2) |
| Result | 0.5 |
Formulas to generate randomized data
Once in a while you need to generate or create random data in Excel. You can use either RAND() or RANDBETWEEN() to complete the job. In these examples, learn how to create most common types of random data using Excel.
Generate a random number |
|
| The output changes every time you make a change in your spreadsheet. | |
| Example |
=RAND() |
| Result | 0.948708709 |
Generate a random phone number |
|
| The output changes every time you make a change in your spreadsheet. | |
| Example |
=RANDBETWEEN(1000000000,9999999999) |
| Result | (535) 050-1262 |
Generate a random letter from alphabet |
|
| The output changes every time you make a change in your spreadsheet. | |
| Example |
=CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(CODE("A"),CODE("Z")))
|
| Result | Z |
Create a random option from a list of values |
|
| The output changes every time you make a change in your spreadsheet. | |
| Example |
=INDEX(staff[Name], RANDBETWEEN(1,COUNTA(staff[Name]))) |
| Result | June |
Want some other example? Post a comment
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122 Responses to “10 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts I can’t live without!”
Nice,
Mine would be Ctrl + R (to fill right) and Ctrl + D (to fill down). I just love making good formulae which can be used all over the table.
Mine are (not in this order): Ctrl+S (save), Ctrl+W (close active workbook), Ctrl+PageDown/PageUp (navigate to the next/previous worksheet), F4 (toggle references), Ctrl+A/X/C/V (select all/cut/copy/paste), F9 (calculate).
I use ctrl+shift+1 for convert value to number format
I'd add ctrl+shift+arrows to select tables and F9 to see what part of my larger than normal formula went wrong. Plus the standard ctrl+c, ctrl+x and ctrl+v.
Some of those mentioned already (eg CTRL + PageUp / PageDown to flick between tabs) but shift + f2 to add a comment and CTRL + 8 / CTRL + 9 to hide a row or column or CTRL + SHIFT + 8 or 9 to unhide. Oh and CTRL + SHIFT + $ to comvert a value to currency
I use the excel quick access toolbar, and use the corresponding alt+1-9 for my most used short cuts. So on there I currently have filter, paste values, pivot table, excel options, paste formulas which are my most used shortcuts.
But apart from that f5 (go to function for blank, constants formulas).
well I'm going to tell you I Use
Alt+1 = paste values
Alt+2 = paste formula
Alt+3 = paste formats
how?
Excel 2007 - you can add items to the quick access toolbar and then when you press ALT it assigns them all a number/letter. it's just a case of finding the right commands.
Excellent... made me look for them and when i did get them i just went crazy... hahahahahaha... thanks a lot stephen....
Most of Chandoos and
Ctrl Pg Up/Down - move to next active page
Alt F11 - open VBA Editor window
Ctrl F6 - Scroll between open workbooks
Ctrl ~ - Show/Hide Formulas
For Tip #4 I always use CTRL+ALT+V, I find it easier on the fingertips.
4. ALT+ES – Paste Special > Values
I have created a macro for the functions that I use most:
Ctrl + shift + L to hightlight cell
Ctrl + shift + M to unhighlight cell
Ctrl + shift + O to paste formula
Ctrl + shift + T to past format
Ctrl + shift + E to format as accounting
Ctrl + shift + I to use % format. and these excel. and many of the other tips mentioned.
how did you make these macros? Thanks!
Hi Daniel
Simple - just record a macro of the action you want then when you save there'll be an 'assign shortcut' option for you. You can also change them after if you find it's not that convenient or you forget it too easily.
Cheers
Using 2007 version:
Crtl-tab to toggle in and out of excel with another workbook or applicaiton (word, ppt, outlook, etc). I prefer this over Crtl-F6 because i only need to use my left thumb and index finger instead of 2 hands for Crtl-F6. To me, the keys Crtl-F6 is too far away from one another, even if I don't have to worry about toggling to other applications like crtl-tab.
Crtl-Pg Up and Crtl-Pg Down: too many worksheets to do QC work after each project/update.
Shift+End+arrow key or Crtl+Shift+arrow key: depends on if i want the whole column/row/area.
F4 for ease of formula control.
Crtl+F to find/replace text, numbers, formula checking, etc.
I have all paste special on the access tool bar instead. there are too many situations to use.
Crtl+~ to see all cells with formulae.
F2: not only edit the formula but to hi-light and understand where others cells are linked to this cell, if any.
I use
Ctrl + spacebar to select entire column,
Shift + spacebar to select entire row
Shift + Ctrl + spacebar to select all datas in the worksheet
Ctrl + 0 to hide a column
Ctrl + Shift + 9 to unhide a column
Ctrl + 2 to bold
Guys - you can't live without Ctrl + Z - just as you can't live life without an eraser.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but you can't actually erase your past in real life.
Here are a couple that haven't been mentioned yet (I think)...
ALT + = (Autosum)
CTRL+A (Select data/all)
CTRL+Space (Select column)
SHIFT+Space (Select row)
CTRL+SHIFT+F3 (Create Names)
CTRL+5 (Strikethrough)
ALT+ENTER (Mutliple rows in cell)
I've noticed that the unhide column shortcut (CTRL+SHIFT+0) stopped working when I updated to Windows 7...anyone know why (or a workaround)?
Try Ctrl + ~
All time best CTRL+SHIFT+Down arrow to select contiguous cells ( along a column)
ALT+N+V+T to insert pivot table
ALT+E+A+A to clear all ( very handy!!!)
ALT+F1 to insert default chart in current sheet
arrow key to toggle between chart elements
In addition to the obvious Control + C/X/V (Copy, Cut, and Paste), I use ALT + = to insert AutoSum. This is realy handy.
Definitely Shift or Cltr + Space Bar, then Ctrl + or - to add/delete a row/column.
1. Ctrl + Page Up/Down - jump to previous/next worksheet
2. Ctrl + Home - jump to the top of the worksheet
3. Ctrl + F3 - displays the Name manager
4. Ctrl + 1 - format
5. Ctrl + ; - paste today's date
6. Ctrl + W - close active workbook
7. Shift + F11 - adds new worksheet
8. Shift + F3 - insert formula
9. Ctrl + 9 - hides selected row
10. Ctrl + 0 - hides selected column
Btw thanks a lot for "CTRL+SHIFT+L – Turn on/ off filters", I have to learn that. 🙂
Mine have to be:
Ctrl + Shift + + to insert a new row/column/cell
F9 to run formulas. Great for testing parts for a formula
Ctrl + D to repeat the cell above
Yeah man, control+d
Thumbs Up for this shortcut, specially when you work with a lot of data base, just create your formulas and Bualaa. Bless people.
Ctrl + z = Undo is one I use a lot
Didn't see these--
Being right-handed, using thumb and forefinger...:-)
Cntrl + Insert for Copy
Cntrl + Delete for Cut
Whenever I'd go to new company, had standing invitation: if anyone knew more ways to "copy" than I, I'd buy lunch... this was always the winning #7"...:-)
How many ways y'all know...?? Im ready to buy lunch...:-)
yep--#2 is good--- but I use Alt + D+F+F which only takes one hand and leaves right hand for coffee...:-)
and, since I discovered "MS Flag key + M" to close all open windows and put u at Desktop...I use it multiple times a day...
F12 - Save As...
Yes agreed with CTRL - Z, but hey don't forget his brother CTRL - Y [Redo] 🙂
Ctrl+Alt+V for Paste Special
Alt DFF for Filtering
Alt ASD for Sorting in decending order and Alt ASA for Sorting in ascending order
Ctrl PageDown/PageUp for navigation over sheets
etc.
Can someone put all these shortcut keys in photoshop and share the link so that we can put it as a wall paper.
Hi,
very useful post!
Mine are:
Shift-End- - selecting used fields
F4
CTRL-S
Thanks for the inspiration - I love the cheat-sheet wallpaper idea.
P.S.: Where's your flattr-button?
Thomas
Mine will be
F11 - Create a chart
Alt + D + F +F - To turn on/ off the auto filter
Really good post, lots of useful stuff here!
One of my most used not mentioned already (i dont believe!):
ALT + SHIFT + F1 - add new sheet to workbook
@Arun, All
For a comprehensive list of Keyboard Shortcuts please also refer here:
http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-excel/archive/2011/07/19/cant-remember-all-those-excel-keyboard-shortcuts-now-you-dont-have-to.aspx
1 of my best short cut is to Check which cells/worksheets are referenced/used in formula
-> Ctrl + [
Works only on the cells which has formula. it Jumps directly the dependent cells
& Ctrl + ] works for those cells which will be used in formula (Dependents)
Thank you so much for showing me what this Ctrl Function does, i used it by accident and have struggled to figure it out. Now I'll use it all the time!!
To freeze and unfreeze panes
ALT+W+F+F
A couple of my favourites I haven't seen mentioned:
ALT E+S for paste special, use all the time for copying formats, values formulas, etc.
ALT E+I+S useful for creating values in a series
SHIFT ALT right arrow to group, ALT D+G+H to hide group ALT D+G+S to show group.
ALT+TAB to navigate between open windows.
@Steven, thanks for the tip on using the quick access toolbar. I just rearranged mine.
In addition to many of the shortcuts listed above I use F4 to repeat an action and CTRL+N to open a new workbook
@Les Goins
I tried Crtl+Del but it only delete. it is not cut if we can't paste it back somewhere else, right?
...:-) Sorry, Fred (And, all others...)
should be "SHIFT + Delete key" to "Cut"... THEN, just hit Enter, or Cntrl V to Paste
CTRL# to format dates!!
Hi All,
My fav or top are
1 alt+dff for auto filter
2 alt + es, followed by, v, c, w, etc for paste special
3 Ctrl + navigational keys to move around in workbook
4 ctrl + space select entire column
5 shift + space select entire row
the list will just go on... in a nut shell all short cut Handled by left hand and right hand for the mouse + defnitely coffe 🙂
@Chris, glad i inspired.
a couple more favourites of mine:
Alt & ; = select visible (really useful when working with autofilter)
Ctrl&PgUp/PgDn = move left/right on a sheet (useful when you have a lot of columns)
Ctrl&Tab (or Ctrl&Shift&Tab)= switch between workbooks (& the other way back)
Alt&Tab (or Alt&&Shift&Tab) = switch between applications (& the other way back).... however, if you note that it always takes you to the last used application first, then press & release both repeated will flick you back and forth between 2 applications or 2 workbooks without having to press the shift. I use this if I have to complete journals, where I have to take data from Excel and post into our accounting package.... with Ctrl&C/Ctrl&V.
I use the following short cuts often
1) Alt D,F,F - AutoFilter
2) Ctrl+space - Select entire column
3) Shirt+Space - Select entire row
4) F12 - Save As
5) Alt + F,C - Close workbook
6) Alt + F,X - Close Excel application
7) Ctrl + 1 - Format Cell
8) Context menu key (next to win key) + S - Paste special
9) F4 - Repeat the last action
10) Ctrl + PageUp, PageDown - To browse through worksheets
Everyday shortcuts for me:
CTRL + C Copy
CTRL + X Cut
CTRL + V Paste
CTRL + D Copy from above
CTRL + Z Undo
F4 Repeat (or scroll through referencing)
F2 Edit cell
CTRL Page Up/Page Dwn Move to next/previous worksheet
CTRL + * Select current region
CTRL + Home Go to top left cell
CTRL + ; insert date - I use a lot but I like to have the keystrokes the way I want so I make tiny macros for my faves and give them my own key combos.
CTRL SHIFT + V = Paste Values is much easier than the built in for me because it's a natural follow-on for CTRL + C.
I use "CTRL+[ " This takes you to the source of your formula and I use it every day.
The "CTRL+[" Is fantastic. Thanks for Sharing.
@Andy & Gaylen, All
Don't forget about Ctrl+]
which follows a cell to it's next dependants
Both of Ctrl+[ and Ctrl+] can be used iteratively to move up/down the dependancy tree
Great ... thanks everyone for the tips.
BTW - it's interesting how good it is for us all to be human filters. Instead of a bamboozling blur of what you could possibly use, it's: here - you'll probably like this one ... I do.
@andy and hui
I'd not come across the CTRL + [ or ] before so thanks! I can't imagine how useful they'd have been over my career so far. Great tip
really helpful
My list is bit more..
Ctrl+page up/down to move between tabs
right click+p+s for paste special values (i use most of the times keyboard right click..since it is very near to fingers)
alt+d+f+f and again alt+d+f+f to remove all the filters and add filters again
ctrl+tab to move between open workbooks
ofcourse F2 very commonly
Shift+F11 very frequently to add new worksheet/tab
alt+o+h+r and alt+o+c+a are my best shorcut keys to rename tab and auto fit the cells
(ctrl+c/x/z/v/b/u/i/S..like everyone)
Regards,
Saran
lostinexcel.blogspot.com
Since I use Conditional formatting very often i always use ALT+O+D
Just thought of another
for wrap and unwrap, ctrl+w and ctrl+q+w (quit wrap)
because I do it a lot and it's too fiddly to do through menus.
Hi use ALT+DFS on a daily basis- incase you have filtered a sheet against 5-7 filters and you want to remove all filters then this is the easiest.
Ctrl + Alt + V ----> paste special
Ctrl + F6 = navigate between differetn Excel files.
Ctrl + PgUp/PgDn = navigate between sheets
Ctrl + Home/End
Ctrl + Arrows
Shift + lots of keys...
ALT + ; - to copy visible cells only. I have to use it quite often and a lot of them you have already mentioned :).
thank you for sharing.
Ctrl+shift+L for Autofilter and remove the filters
My Favourites (which I use all the time):
Ctrl + 1 - cell formats
Ctrl + D - copy values Down
Ctrl + R - copy values Right
Alt + DFF - toggle filters on / off
Alt + WFF - toggle freeze pane on / off
Alt + HVF - Paste Special; Formulas
Alt + HVV - Paste Special; Values
Ctrl + C then Alt + HVV - removes formulas (especially handy when selecting whole sheet)
Alt + ADFROT - Advanced Filter to get Unique values for a column, to new location
Alt + DPF - insert quick Pivot Table
Hello everyone.
I'm going to admit that I don't use keyboard shortcuts beyond Copy and Paste.
Why not? Every software and OS has their own keyboard shortcuts and I have a fear of them overlapping.
One keyboard shortcut might do something cool in Excel but in my music composition software that shortcut might mute the drum track. In my video editing software is might the the shortcut for opening the effects menu.
Shortcuts are really cool but I've gone 15 years working Excel, writing VBA code, and making a living without memorizing keyboard shortcuts. Only recently have I been willing to admit that.
@Oz
Your missing out on huge increases in efficiency
Most of the normal shortcuts are similar throughout all applications
Ctrl C, V X - Copy, paste Cut
Ctrl O - Open
Ctrl S - Save
Ctrl P - Print
and several other of a similar nature
Hiu,
I see what you're saying but still disagree. The efficiency that I'm missing out on is small. This isn't like I've declared refusal to use pivot tables.
Shortcuts were screwing me up when I switched from Excel on my PC and Excel on my Mac. CTRL C, CTRL V are useful and universal. I do use those.
The only thing I can see is that I'd be in trouble if I joined one of those Excel tournaments.
One mildly humorous reaction: when you mention CTRL P for printing, I never just straight print. The printer manufacturers have things set up where you can't set a printer to default to printing in draft mode. So, I always manually go to the print menus and adjust the settings to draft mode.
Any way ... the bottom line is that I don't work in an environment where shortcuts will make or break me.
I use one program that has Ctrl C and Ctrl V for inbuilt shortcuts and it drives me nuts because I use them all the time. The Shift+Ins is the one I need to use in that program.
Another Excel one I use often is Ctrl+' to copy the data from the cell above. Several others that have already been listed.
My new laptop has the "F" buttons combined with other buttons. To save space on the keyboard I guess. Whenever I'm at home and hit F2 to edit it toggles my wi-fi on and off. Grrr. I have to hold the function key then hit F2 to activate the F2 function.
So glad I found this page. Paste values only is the shortcut I was looking for. Found it. 🙂 Thank you.
lots of people at my office use a background program to assign keyboard shortcuts. Drives me crazy because they use existing keyboard shortcuts like ctrl-a to shoot off a macro, then they don't know how to select all. Makes training them on excel a lot more difficult.
A good background program to assign keyboard shortcuts will allow them to be application specific so that ^a does not interfere with select all in excel. A misused background program could easily result in the situation described above.
Highlight a row or column and use...
Ctrl + + and Ctrl + - to insert or delete rows or columns
Thanks Rob - I've got double rows of toolbars all round with hundreds of buttons, so even finding my faves like insert delete row can be hard. That'll be really handy.
Does anyone know how to use the ALT-key (or any other key) to access the buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) numberd with more then 2 digits?
Just type the numbers/letters shown.
If it says 09 just press 0 and then 9 (of course after pressing ALT to see the shortcuts assigned to QAT)
The less-common (but already mentioned here) shortcuts I use the most are:
Ctrl-1 (cell format)
Ctrl-Home/End (beginning/end)
Ctrl-Shift-Home/End (select from here to beginning/end)
Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn (move between worksheets)
Ctrl-` (show formulae)
Very helpful! Thanks!
A couple of my time-saver favorites:
F2 to edit a cell (helpful if I just need to delete the last character and don't want to retype the whole thing)
Shift-F2 to add or edit a comment (then Esc Esc to get back out of it)
Also a big fan of the Ctrl-K hyperlink one that others have mentioned!
Been reading these tips for a year and a half, and always something useful.
I use a lot of comments so Shift-F2 is helpful. Thanks.
For F2 - edit cell there is an option to 'Directly edit in cell' which I always have on. Just double click. Not only that, but the cursor will be just where you double click, so you can start middle, end, wherever you need, without another click. 🙂
I just hate to use the mouse, so I avoid double-clicking at all costs! 🙂
Fair enough. I change my mind regularly about that. It's a mood thing ...or if I'm eating over the KB. Bad! hehe.
CTRL + SHIFT + & (TO CREATE OUTLINE BORDER)
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I often use F2 followed by F9 to convert a formula in a cell to its value. It's the keyboard equivalent to copying the cell, and using Edit > Paste Special > Values on the same cell, but much quicker.
Application? I use this a lot if I have to manually separate items on a receipt into different categories, but I still have to take sales tax into account. I'll enter certain items from the receipt into the cell, and include a quick formula to get the sales tax for just those items. When I'm done, I strip out the formula just to be on the safe side, leaving the value of the cell.
Thanks Craig, unfortunately when I tried this I found another app has hijacked my F9 - what does it normally do by itself? I will have to try to wrestle it back from the app.
BTW I use paste vals so much I made a macro so I could use ctl-sh-v. The reason this is so handy is because of course I've always done ctl-v immediately before so it's really like one quick action, with the bonus that the paste val doesn't have to be in the same cell (I mean you don't have to lose your formula) Easily my most constantly used macro. If you want to give it a try ...
Sub PasteValues()
'' Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V
'
'ActiveCell.Select
'Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlValues, Operation:=xlNone, SkipBlanks:= _
'False, Transpose:=False
ActiveCell.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlValues
End Sub
does it work on a range. I tried selecting a range and then F2+F9. It changes from formula to value in just first cell.
Is there a keyboard shortcut for filtering a value after adding the filters to a data?
It might be a bit clumsy, but just use the keyboard to navigate to the filtered cell and hit Alt + Down to bring up the filtered options.
Mine
CTRL+* ( it will slecte all the work area)
[…] Our friend Chandoo, excel dashboard guru over at chandoo.org has provided us with the 10 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts You Can’t Live Without. […]
Other than CTRL C, CTRL V the only other shortcut that I can't live without: CTRL+SHIFT when moving a block of data and wanting it inserted.
After highlighting the cells that you want to move, select CTRL+SHIFT and the cursor turns into a line that you position to the place where you want the data inserted. It's pretty cool.
1. Ctrl+Enter accepts your input and leaves the cursor in the same cell. Saves you from having to go back up to continue work on that cell e.g. copy....
2. Select a range of cells which have the same formula or content; edit the active cell only; now press Ctrl+Enter to populate the entire range with the corrected formula/content!
3. In the middle of a formula, if you have navigated away from the active cell (e.g. to select a large range) such that it is no longer visible, you can press Ctrl+Bckspace to jump back to the active cell whilst remaining in edit mode
Am using as
Ctrl+5 for strikethrough in the content of the cell.
hi..
can any one tell me what is shortcut for copy and paste all the table as it is..i knw ctrl+c and ctl=v; bt this shortcut not paste document as it is..
[…] the most popular posts from earlier this semester. Re-posted from February 14, 2013 Website: http://chandoo.org/wp/2011/08/08/must-have-excel-keyboard-shortcuts/ Especially useful when analyzing data, making charts and formatting workbooks. Business and […]
[…] Website: http://chandoo.org/wp/2011/08/08/must-have-excel-keyboard-shortcuts/ […]
[…] Website: http://chandoo.org/wp/2011/08/08/must-have-excel-keyboard-shortcuts/ […]
The two I use all the time are:
Ctrl + (Control and Plus sign on numeric keypad) = Insert row or column
Ctrl - (Control and Minus sign on numeric keypad) = Delete row or column
Shortcut #4 is one of my favorites, but there's an important note speficially regarding Paste Special Values - you need to hit V after alt + ES. I know you have a link to that detial amongst other options within Paste Special (all of which I use all the time and LOVE), but if you're specifically noting Paste Special Values, it should read alt + ESV.
Thanks for all your info!
[…] some time getting fully on board with shortcuts. As an added resource, do check out Chandoo’s post on 10 must-have […]
Great discussions!
I have a question for No. 8 CTRL + K for Hyperlinks.
Is there any way you can add a Hyperlink and KEEP the existing formatting of the text in the cell?
I would assume it might be a setting somewhere where you can define the Hyperlink Design - but that would just be another single format I think - I want it to be un-formatted if anything so it picks up the current cell format. Any ideas please? Thanks everyone!
Hi Chandoo,
I do regularly read emails received by you. I use above mentioned 10 shortcuts in daily workflow. In addition to this I use following shortcuts:
Filter Ctrl+shift+L and open filter column alt+down arrow key.
Visible cells Alt+:
Format Painter Copy then go to the cell which you want format right click key+S+T
It's an amazing article designed for all the internet viewers; they will take
advantage from it I am sure.
Amazing article,
The only thing i didnt know is ctrl+shift+l for filters and I use them alot,
so thanks!
And my contribution is:
alt+h+9 > remove decimal place
alt+h+0 > add decimal place.
Very useful when using ctrl+shift+1 for number formatting and immediately hitting alt+h+9 twice to remove decimal places.
Cheers
I am using AutoFilter and I have a large picklist of values available to me. I want to select about the first 50% of the items. Is there any shortcut to grab them? (i.e. Select 1st item, hold shift, select last item --which does NOT work).
Thanks!
how can i "clear format" from a part of selection in excel by keyboard.
i need keyboard shortcut to clear format of any cell.
reply me
ashish gupta
email: ashish99b@gmail.com
Hii...Ashish....
Clear format :-Alt+H+C+S.....
[…] http://chandoo.org/wp/2011/08/08/must-have-excel-keyboard-shortcuts […]
Hiii...
Previous is wrong ...
Clear Format:-ALT+H+L+C+S
I think 7 should be "CTRL+F3 – Show Names"
cool, thanks bro!
Chandoo, Greetings! Nice tips. Like it & use ful. To make it credible and professional, please publish without spelling, grammatical mistakes, if you may. Thank you.
Sri: The spelling and grammar are pretty accurate, if you're referring to the original article. If there is a specific spot that you feel is unclear due to grammar issues, you'll want to provide more details on what is confusing you versus just saying "please publish without spelling, grammatical mistakes".
Chandoo doesn't have control over the grammar or spelling in users' responses such as yours, of course; if that's what you're addressing, you should address your comment to the user who posted the item which you feel has poor grammar. (You would generally only do so, though, if it's that you need something clarified because of the grammar issue.)
I'd like to note that your post isn't actually the best in terms of spelling and grammar. For example, you capitalized "greetings" even though it's in the middle of a sentence, and you put an unnecessary space in "useful". If you're particularly bothered by poor grammar, you'll want to proofread your own posts a little more carefully! 😉
This is awesome, totally on nerd overload. Here's my fav:
Go to - special - blanks
Then Ctrl, up arrow, =, enter
This fills in all the blanks!
Thanks fellow geeks for all the sweet tips
Guys,
CTRL+SHIFT+1 always give us number format with 2 decimals. Is there any Excel shortcut that could give us number format with 0 decimal, other than making our own macro?
Thanks
I have commented on this just few comments above. That's how I handle it.
alt+h+9 > remove decimal place.
alt+h+0 > add decimal place.
But that's two steps instead of one.
1) press SHIFT+CTRL+1, and then
2) ALT+H+9 or 0.....
not too convenient.
Seems to me, the only way is to make the macro
try Alt + H + K
these shortcut keys are really helpful in smart work & fast work
Wonderful tips, I have made my own list.
Another good one is CTRL+F10, toggles maximise/restore window in workspace. (So you can find the scrollbars, and switch books by clicking another one)
I use CTRL-Z to repeat the last command. Handy for inserting multiple rows or columns.
[…] Here are some great Excel shortcuts copied from http://chandoo.org/wp/2011/08/08/must-have-excel-keyboard-shortcuts […]
I use filters to do an ad-hoc analysis of my data. So, Once I set a couple of filters.
Ctrl ; to enter today's date
Ctrl ' to enter the same data as above
Ctrl home to go to the top