Today, lets talk about Excel keyboard shortcuts as promised on Monday. As you can imagine, Excel has 100s of very useful and powerful keyboard shortcuts. Trying to learn and memorize all of them is not only futile, but also very difficult. Instead, if you focus on learning just 10 most important shortcuts, you will not only save a lot of time, but also get one step closer to Excel awesomeness. So which 10 shortcuts?
That is the tricky part. The 10 shortcuts you need depend on what do you use Excel for. For example, I use Excel primarily to analyze data & present results. So my shortcuts deal with writing faster formulas, formatting data and charts.
As a start, I suggest knowing and using these 13 shortcuts.
1. CTRL+1 - Format
Oh CTRL+1, I use this all the time, to format cells, charts, text boxes - you name it. An alternative to CTRL+1 is ALT+O+E
2. CTRL+2 - Bold
When you press CTRL+2 on a selected cell, it darkens or "boldens" the content of the cell, which is similar to pressing CTRL+B. Try it now
3. CTRL+3 -
Italicize your text with CTRL+3 which works as good as CTRL+I
4. CTRL+F2 - Print
This combo of shortcut keys sets your document for print on Ms Excel. Imagine that your button "P" is bad and you couldn't press the normal CTRL+P which invokes your printer setup, why not press CTRL+ F2 to move on easily?
5. CTRL+SHIFT+L - Turn on/off filters
Most of the time, I use filters to do ad-hoc analysis of my data. So, Once I set a couple of filters, If I want to revert back to full data, I find clearing each filter a pain. So I just turn-off and turn-on the filters, by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+L twice.
6. CTRL+Arrow keys - Navigate around the workbook
When it comes to dealing with data, navigate, you must. So I rely on CTRL+arrow key combinations all the time. Also, I use CTRL+SHIFT+arrow keys to select a group of cells
7. ALT+ES - Paste Special > Values
Copying and Pasting is another must if you deal with data. Often, I have to get data from other workbooks or clean the formatting of existing tables. So I use ALT+ES (press E then leave the key and press S) to paste special. Works like a charm!
8. F4 - Change cell reference style while editing formulas
Excel runs a pretty tight mafia when it comes to cell references. You must pay it a couple of $s if you want to change the reference style from relative (A2) to absolute ($A$2). But who's got the time to carefully navigate between A and 2 and then type SHIFT+4? So I use F4 key and Excel changes the referencing style for me easily. Every man has got a price, even Excel!
9. F2 - Edit a cell
As simple as that.
10. F3 - Show Names
For simple workbooks I do not use names. But if I am making a dashboard or Excel model, I define several names and use them all the time. This is where F3 comes in handy. Just press F3, no matter where you are (formula editing, conditional formatting, data validation etc.) and you get a list of all the defined names. Pick one and press ok to add it to the formula etc. you are typing. But remember that the names would have been created ahead of time. You can do this under Formula>Name Manager as shown below;
11. CTRL+K - Add Hyperlink
Hyperlinks make your work book accessible & pretty. So I use them all the time, especially, if I have more than a couple of sheets. Select a cell or shape and press CTRL+K to launch hyperlink box. Type the destination URL or location and you are done.
12. CTRL+T - Insert Table
Ever since I learned how to use Tables feature, I have never looked back. Nowadays, anytime I need to use a bunch of data, I convert that to a table and then use. Tables are flexible, they can grow & shrink, they allow you to write readable formulas (structural references) and they are lovely. Just select any cell in a range of related data, and press CTRL+T to make it table.
13. CTRL+S - Save
There is no point making something elaborate in Excel if you forgot to save. So I press CTRL+S every now and then. You never know when BH strike! So that is all for now. Go ahead and press them shortcuts.
If you have any trouble getting these shortcuts, kindly post your comment or buzz me.
Stay awesomely Excel-lent.
Oladapo Sorinola
BB pin 52E9802D
07014282477, 07062932708
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