MS Excel Shortcuts
If you want to gain speed and reliability in Excel modelling I would advise you to start using the keyboard only. Try to avoid the mouse at all circumstances. While this may feel slower in the beginning you will notice a considerable increase in your modelling speed and accuracy by solely working with the keyboard. Here are a few VERY IMPORTANT shortcuts. In the downloadable Shortcut sheet (xls or pdf download available) you will find the (hopefully) complete list of MS Excel 2007 standard shortcuts. A few combinations are still available so that you can program your own shortcuts.
Remember: Don't use the mouse! Don't use the mouse! Don't use the mouse! Don't use the mouse! Don't use the mouse!
Ribbon Shortcuts: In the 2007 MS Office system, some programs - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and parts of Outlook - have been redesigned for greater efficiency and ease of use. Along with the new look come new keyboard shortcuts for accessing and executing commands. Keyboard shortcuts called access keys relate directly to the tabs, commands, and other things that you see on the screen. You use access keys by pressing the ALT key followed by another key or a sequence of other keys. Every single command on the Ribbon, the Microsoft Office Button menu, and the Quick Access Toolbar has an access key, and every access key is assigned a Key Tip.
So, wherever you press the ALT key, you will seeKey Tips appear (next to the main tabs in the first place). Press the key for the tab command you want to access (e.g. press "H" for the Home tab). Now, a new set of letters will appear next to all the commands in the Home tab ribbon. You can execute any command now by pressing the respective key stroke on your keyboard. This website explains it quite nicely with a well structured section on shortcuts and with a few illustrative graphics: Loughborough Excel 2007 shortcuts.
Below you find a more complete set of shortcuts for download. Let me just emphasize the most important ones to get you started:
| My favourite Shortcuts: | |
| ALT + Tab | Switch between different programs (general MS Windows shortcut) |
| CTRL + Tab | Switch between different Excel workbooks |
| CTRL + Page Up or Page Down | Move to next or previous Excel worksheet |
| CTRL + c | Copy cell or selection |
| CTRL + v | Paste cell or selection (use this after you copied your selection) |
| CTRL + x | Cut cell or selection |
| Arrow keys | Move to next cell: up, down, right or left |
| CTRL + Arrow keys | JUMP to next cell where content/no content occurs: up, down, right or left |
| F2 | Start "Edit Mode" within the selected cell (e.g. in order to make changes on a formula) |
| F4 (when in "Edit Mode") | Toggles between absolute/relative cell referencing (adds $ signs in front of cell references) |
| CTRL + d | Copy down the formula in the first cell of a downward selection |
| CTRL + r | Copy to the right the formula in the first cell of a sideways selection |
| CTRL + p | Start the print menu |
| CTRL + s | Save your work (SHOULD ALSO BE NAMED: SAVE YOUR ASS!) |
| CTRL + "space" | Select column |
| Shift + "space" | Select row |
| CTRL + - | Delete (cell, row, column etc); works well when you have selected an entire row or column |
| Nice Ribbon Shortcuts: | |
| ALT, H, O, W | Define column width |
| ALT, H, F, S | Define font size |
| ALT, H, A, R | Align right |
| ALT, M, P | Trace precedents (formula auditing) |
| ALT, M, D | Trace dependents (formula auditing) |
Downloadable Shortcut Lists
Keyboard_Shortcut_Book.xls
This is an Excel version of a comprehensive Keyboard Shortcut overview
Keyboard_Shortcut_Book.pdf
This is an PDF of a comprehensive Keyboard Shortcut overview that is optimized to print on "Legal" paper (or try A3 paper for that matter...)
