I wish I could make a list called “150 mind-blowingly awesome Excel keyboard shortcuts” but then no-one would remember anything. So I cut the list down to 14.
I’ve also found that people get excited when they learn one new keyboard shortcut, but feel overwhelmed as soon as they learn another, so they end up forgetting both. So I would suggest you skim through the list below, pick ONE that you think might save you some time and incorporate it into your normal work. Then next week, come back and pick another 
1. Press F4 to redo whatever you just did
This has to be the most time-saving keyboard shortcut of all time, because you can apply it to almost anything.
Need to delete a few rows scattered throughout your dataset? Delete the first, then navigate the active cell to the next row you want to get rid of and press F4. Bam! Highlighting cells? Do one, then press F4 for the next, and the next…
2. Press ALT 1 to 9 to use the Quick Access Toolbar
Savvy Excel users already know about the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) located at the very top left of the Excel window, but few realise that you can make it even easier to access your favourite tools by using an Alt + 1 to 9 key combination.
The QAT is usually pre-populated with save, undo and redo, which would be Alt+1, Alt+2 and Alt+3 respectively. This is rather silly as each of these three has its own shortcut key (Ctrl+S, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y). So if you added Increase Font Size, Decrease Font Size and Center, they would be Alt+4, Alt+5 and Alt+6.
3. Edit the active cell by pressing F2
No need to reach for the mouse to edit a cell. If you’re already on the keyboard, just move the pointer to the cell you want to edit (using the arrow keys), and press F2. Don’t laugh if you already knew this, I only recently discovered that a lot of people don’t know this handy shortcut, which dates back all the way to Lotus 1-2-3 days.
4. Auto-sum by pressing Alt + =
instead of typing =sum( and then selecting a column or row of numbers that you would like to add up, just position the active cell to be directly below the column of numbers (or to the right of the row of numbers).
When you press ALT + = Excel automatically selects the numbers that you most likely want to add up and enters the =SUM(A1:A5) formula. You are left in edit mode though, so you can either change the selection, in case Excel’s guess was a bit off, or just press Enter to accept the auto-sum.
5. CTRL + ↑, ↓, →, or ← to jump around big data
When you are moving around large data sets, hold Ctrl and e.g. press the down arrow and then the right arrow to fly all the way to the bottom right. Hold Ctrl+Shift+arrow to also select the cells instead of just moving over them.
6. CTRL + PGUP or PGDN to navigate between worksheets
In a workbook with numerous worksheets it is super easy to navigate between worksheets by holding Ctrl and pressing PageUp or PageDown.
7. CTRL + D or R to copy down or right
Press Ctrl+D to copy from the cell above, i.e. copy Down, or Ctrl+R to copy from the cell to the left, i.e. copy Right.
You can also use this combo when you have a range selected. This will either take the top cell and copy it down (Ctrl+D) or the far-left cell and copy it right (Ctrl+R).
8. CTRL + ; or : to insert the current date or time
Insert today’s date by pressing Ctrl+; or the current time by pressing Ctrl+:
I frequently find cases where the formula =today( ) is used to date a document, This is a pointless exercise as the formula is constantly updated and will never again show the date on which the document was actually dated.
Pressing Ctrl+; hardcodes the date, so it won’t be different if you had to open the document tomorrow.
9. CTRL + SHIFT + $ to format a number as Currency
Format a number as Currency by pressing Ctrl+Shift+$. This also works for Ctrl+Shift+% for percentage.
10. CTRL + SHIFT + 1 to quickly make numbers readable
Press Ctrl+Shift+1 to give a number thousand separators and decimals (i.e. 1,000.00). This is especially useful when you have a string of numbers with a varying number of decimals. It will look super messy, but with one click you can actually see what’s going on.
To format an entire column this way, first press Ctrl + Space to select the whole column. Then press Ctrl+Shift+1 to format all the selected cells. If you smash out this two second combo in front of your colleagues it tends to elicit quite a few oohs and aahs. “How did you just do that?!”
11. ALT + F5 to update a PivotTable
PivotTables don’t change until you tell them to change. You can amend or even delete the source data, but the PivotTable will just sit there. To refresh (update) the PivotTable you have to click Analyze under PivotTable Tools, then click Refresh. OR you can just press Alt+F5.
Just make sure the active cell is positioned somewhere within the PivotTable when you press it or nothing will happen
12. CTRL + B or I or U to make text bold, italic or underline
I had to add these in, as there are actually people that still don’t use them!
13. CTRL + X or C or V to cut, copy and paste
Exactly that, Cut, Copy or Paste!
14. CTRL + ALT + V to activate the paste special dialog
Other shortcuts that also open the Paste Special dialogue are Alt,E,S or Alt,H,V,S.
What’s your favourite?
Any shortcuts that you can’t believe didn’t make the cut? Let us know in the comments below!
