This post explains things to look for in a keyboard that will make it easier to use the most common keyboard shortcuts in Excel for Windows. I also recommend some great keyboard that meet these criteria.Looking for the best keyboard to use with Excel?This post explains things to look for in a keyboard that will make it easier to use the most common keyboard shortcuts in Excel for Windows.As you use Excel, you quickly realize that using keyboard shortcuts will save you lots of time and improve your productivity. This means that the layout of your keyboard is crucial to performing many of these shortcuts. Not All Keyboards Are Created EqualKeyboards come in all shapes and sizes, with a lot of variation in the actual layout and location of the keys. This is especially true for laptop keyboards.
Some laptop keyboards have keys completely missing. Others create multi-purpose keys which requires a function key to be enabled before the key can be used.This will slow you down when trying to perform a keyboard shortcut in Excel.
Whether using an external keyboard or laptop, there are many things you will want to consider when purchasing a keyboard. The KeysThe following is a list of the keys you will use most often when working with Excel.
I explain what to look for when purchasing a keyboard to help make you more efficient and save time. Many of these comparisons are a matter of personal opinion, and this should be used as an informal guide on what to look for.Ctrl – Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) are probably two of the most common actions in Excel. There is a shortcut for almost every letter and number on the keyboard when combined with Ctrl. So the Ctrl key is used frequently, and the placement of the Ctrl key is important.On most external keyboards the Ctrl key is at the bottom left corner of the keyboard, making it easy to find with your left pinky finger.
However, not all laptop keyboards share this layout. Often times you will find a Function (Fn) key in the bottom left corner, and the Ctrl key located to the right of it. This can make the Ctrl key a bit more difficult to find and takes some getting used to. The location of the left Ctrl key is definitely something to consider when purchasing a laptop.Here are a few other commonly used keyboard shortcuts with the Ctrl key:. Ctrl+Z – Undo. Ctrl+A – Select All.
Ctrl+S – Save. Ctrl+F – Find.
Ctrl+1 – Format Cells. Ctrl(plus key) – Insert Rows.
Ctrl+-(minus key) – Delete Rows. Ctrl+P – Print. Ctrl+Space Bar – Select Entire Column Shift+Space Bar – Select Entire RowArrow Keys – A lot of time is spent selecting cells in the worksheet.
Whether selecting a range of cells to copy/paste or navigating around the worksheet to enter formulas, you will find the arrow keys can be a fast alternative using the mouse.This means that your keyboard should have a dedicated set of arrow keys in a location that is easy for your fingers to find and press. Again, this is pretty standard on external keyboards, but laptop keyboards are a different story.
Many laptops have condensed the arrow keys to save space, making the keys very small and hard to press. I have been working heavily in Excel the past year and have wondered why a company has not sold a dedicated keypad for Excel. Seems to be besides the F2 and Esc nearer to the numbers, why wouldn’t it be beneficial to have the = sign and others in a portable, wireless device? That is my main pet peeve of working on a keyboard. The equal sign is away from the ‘home position’ I have when keeping my left hand on the Esc key and the right on the keypad. Is it a matter of cost or that most people are not so stuck in designing Excel after Quickbooks came along?
Or should I go make my fortune assembling a keypad such as this? Hi Cynthia,I completely agree. It would definitely be beneficial to have an equal sign key on the left side. I’m not sure why there is no keyboard made for Excel. My guess is that it is not really compatible. If you want to teach others or use someone else’s computer, then you would be fumbling with the keys. Although a lot of people use QB, a lot more people still use Excel.The other problem I see is that you would never get everyone to agree on a standard layout.One little trick I see people do is start a formula with a “+” sign instead of an “=”.
I think the main reason for this is because that used to be how it was done in Lotus (old spreadsheet program). But on a standard keyboard the “+” symbol is on the right edge of the keyboard, making it easy to press with your thumb while your hand is still on the mouse. When you start a formula with a plus, Excel will automatically add the equal sign after you press Enter.I’m NOT a big fan of starting a formula with a “+” symbol because I think it looks a little messy and can be confusing. But it’s just personal preference. Anyways, I hope that helps.Let me know if you decide to build a custom keyboard.
I hope you find your pot of gold. Great article!
To me, the most annoying change is the elimination of the traditional key “sextet” (Insert, Home, Page Up, Delete, End, Page Down) and the addition of a new sextet (Page Up, Arrow Up, Page Down, Arrow Left, Arrow Down, Arrow Right).I have been using Dells laptops for about 15 years. Work supplies them via 3-year leases.
Dell was great on keeping the same keyboard layout while renewing designs, including using the traditional key sextet. However, this changed about 3 years ago and now most Dells use the new sextet. Since then, I have been forcefully and painfully working on getting used to this new layout.To make things more fun, I just bought an Inspiron 7000 for home. Unfortunately, a new change has been introduced. They eliminated the Page Up and Down keys, and add them via Fn combination to the up and Down keys. It seems like this is a new annoying trend.Do you know if there is a laptop out in the market that features the traditional key sextet?
Hi Carlos,I feel your pain! Keyboard design in the last few years has been more about aesthetics than functionality.
I think there is some Apple influence going on here. Personally I’m not a big fan of the chiclet style keyboards and abundance of dual purpose function keys.I have a Lenovo T420 that has a keyboard that comes very close to the six key layout you are referring to. Unfortunately, the new models have moved away from this. They still have dedicated page up/down keys, but they are in a weird place next to the arrow keys.As Excel users we are heavily dependent on the keyboard layout for working efficiently. I sometimes wonder what other software programs use the keyboard to this extent, and if there isn’t as much demand for it anymore.
Let me know if you find any other laptops with the six key layout.Thanks! Jon, your recommendations and tips are easy to understandthank you! I have two questions:1) How to remove the breaks on the spreadsheet. I applied them and later hit “remove breaks”; they just remain where they initially appeared (I would also like to know how, where to place them, it seems the system does it automatically.2) How can I do the following two functions in one:a) Freeze the last column (e.g.
Column “H” and be able to move it next to the first column (e.g. Column “A”).b) How to color the lines I am gradually working on column A and B(one by one once I finish a procedure), and then at the very end undo the freezing displaying the color all along columns at once.
Shortcut Keys In Excel List
What is Paste Values?Copying and pasting values is probably one of the most common tasks we do in Excel.Paste Values will paste the values ONLY of the copied range WITHOUT formulas and formatting. This allows us to extract the numbers or text from cells.There are a TON of reasons to paste values.One common use is for scenario analysis where we want to “freeze” numbers that are results of formulas and place them in some blank cells.Another common use is when we want to paste numbers or text into a range that already contains formatting. Pasting values will not change any existing formatting that is applied to the cell/range.In the image above, the Scenario 1 column already contained both cell formatting (colors) and number formatting. When we paste values, any existing formatting in the paste range will NOT change.In the first example above, the blank cells have the default General format, and that is why there is no number formatting applied when we paste values. Sims 3 mods. The Paste Special MenuPaste Values is one of the many pasting options on the Paste Special menu.We can also access some of the Paste Special commands from the Home tab and right-click menu in Excel.The Paste Special button on those menus opens the full Paste Special Menu. Keyboard Shortcuts for Paste ValuesThere are keyboard shortcuts for all of the Paste Special commands. As I mentioned before, the most common we use is Paste Values.In the I share 5 keyboard shortcuts (plus a bonus) to paste values.
Here is a list of the shortcuts. Alt, E, S, V, Enter (Mac: Ctrl+ Cmd+ V). Alt, H, V, V.
Menu Key + V. Custom Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) Button: Alt+ 1. Ctrl+ V, Ctrl, V. Custom shortcut with.In the video I also mention my.If you're more of a mouse user then checkout my. How do you Paste Values?I'd love to know which method you use for pasting values.
Please leave a comment below with your favorite. There are other methods too, so please if you use a different shortcut.Thank you!
Microsoft Excel is a very powerful application for spreadsheet processing and a pretty old one,. Each new version of Excel came with more and more new shortcuts and seeing the full list (over 200!) you may feel a bit intimidated. 20 or 30 keyboard shortcuts will absolutely suffice for everyday work; while others are purposed for highly specific tasks such as writing VBA macros, outlining data, managing PivotTables, recalculating big workbooks, etc.I've put together a list of the most frequent shortcuts below and you can download it as a printable image (, ) or a for your convenience.If you want to re-arrange the shortcuts to your liking or extend the list, then Must-have Excel shortcuts no workbook can do withoutI know, I know, these are basic shortcuts and most of you are comfortable with them. Still, let me write them down again for beginners.Note for newbies: The plus sign '+' means the keys should be pressed simultaneously. The Ctrl and Alt keys are located on the bottom left and bottom right sides of most keyboards. Ctrl + NCreate a new workbook.Ctrl + OOpen an existing workbook.Ctrl + SSave the active workbook.F12Save the active workbook under a new name, displays the Save as dialog box.Ctrl + WClose the active workbook.Ctrl + CCopy the contents of the selected cells to Clipboard.Ctrl + XCut the contents of the selected cells to Clipboard.Ctrl + VInsert the contents of the Clipboard into the selected cell(s).Ctrl + ZUndo your last action. Panic button:)Ctrl + POpen the 'Print' dialog.Formatting data Ctrl + 1Open the 'Format Cells' dialog.Ctrl + T'Convert selected cells to a table.
You can also select any cell in a range of related data, and pressing Ctrl + T will make it a table.Find more about and their features.Working with formulas TabAutocomplete the function name. Example: Enter = and start typing vl, press Tab and you will get = vlookup(F4Cycle through various combinations of formula reference types.
Place the cursor within a cell and hit F4 to get the needed reference type: absolute, relative or mixed (relative column and absolute row, absolute column and relative row).Ctrl + `Toggle between displaying cell values and formulas.Ctrl + 'Insert the formula of the above cell into the currently selected cell or the Formula Bar.Navigating and viewing data Ctrl + F1Show / hide the Excel Ribbon. Hide the ribbon to view more than 4 rows of data.Ctrl + TabSwitch to the next open Excel workbook.Ctrl + PgDownSwitch to the next worksheet.
Press Ctrl + PgUp to switch to the previous sheet.Ctrl + GOpen the 'Go to' dialog. Pressing F5 displays the same dialog.Ctrl + FDisplay the 'Find' dialog box.HomeReturn to the 1st cell of the current row in a worksheet.Ctrl + HomeMove to the beginning of a worksheet (A1 cell).Ctrl + EndMove to the last used cell of the current worksheet, i.e.
The lowest row of the rightmost column.Entering data F2Edit the current cell.Alt + EnterIn cell editing mode, enter a new line (carriage return) into a cell.Ctrl +;Enter the current date. Press Ctrl + Shift +; to enter the current time.Ctrl + EnterFill the selected cells with the contents of the current cell.Example: select several cells. Press and hold down Ctrl, click on any cell within selection and press F2 to edit it. Then hit Ctrl + Enter and the contents of the edited cell will be copied into all selected cells.Ctrl + DCopy the contents and format of the first cell in the selected range into the cells below. If more than one column is selected, the contents of the topmost cell in each column will be copied downwards.Ctrl + Shift + VOpen the 'Paste Special' dialog when clipboard is not empty.Ctrl + YRepeat (Redo) the last action, if possible.Selecting data Ctrl + ASelect the entire worksheet. If the cursor is currently placed within a table, press once to select the table, press one more time to select the whole worksheet.Ctrl + Home then Ctrl + Shift + EndSelect the entire range of your actual used data on the current worksheet.Ctrl + SpaceSelect the entire column.Shift + SpaceSelect the entire row.If you find the post useful, please click the Like buttons and share with friends, or just drop me a comment:) See also.
Some shortcuts that I use everyday but not listed in the first post:Ctrl + Shift + L (to apply/ remove filter)Ctrl + B / I / U (don’t need to explain do I?)F7 (spell check)Ctrl + roll the mouse wheel (zoom in and out)Hold down Ctrl, click hold a worksheet tab, drag across to the right hand side, release the mouse then release the Ctrl key (this duplicates the current worksheet instantly on a new tab, surprisingly useful in some situations)Also, customized the quick access toolbar to my exact requirement, place it below the ribbon, and hide the ribbon (Ctrl + F1) – this is my Excel layout.
To select the entire range, press CTRL + a (if you press CTRL + a one more time Excel selects the entire sheet).2. To copy the range, press CTRL + c (to cut a range, press CTRL + x).3. Select cell A6 and press CTRL + v to paste this range.4. To undo this operation, press CTRL + z MovingSelect cell B2.1.
To quickly move to the bottom of the range, hold down CTRL and press ↓2. To quickly move to the right of the range, hold down CTRL and press →Try it yourself. Hold down CTRL and press the arrow keys to move from edge to edge.
Selecting Column(s) or Row(s) Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft ExcelWhile preparing reports and dashboard in MS Excel keyboard shortcuts, its time-consuming to select the entire column using the mouse. These excel shortcuts is useful to save time and help you do your work faster using the keyboard shortcut keys.