Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool used by millions globally for data analysis, organisation, and visualisation. Mastering its shortcuts can significantly boost your productivity, transforming hours of manual work into mere minutes.
By familiarising yourself with these key commands, you can streamline your workflow, reduce errors, and ultimately become a more efficient and effective Excel user.
.png)
What it does: Reverses your most recent change.
How to use: Press Ctrl + Z immediately after a mistake.
Example: You accidentally delete a formula in a busy spreadsheet — Ctrl + Z restores it instantly.
What it does: Re-applies the last change you undid.
How to use: If you’ve undone too far, press Ctrl + Y to bring it back.
Example: You undo a row deletion but realise you did want it gone — Ctrl + Y deletes it again without redoing the steps.
What it does: Moves your selection to the last filled cell in a direction.
How to use: Hold Ctrl and press an arrow key.
Example: In a sales sheet with 5,000 rows, Ctrl + ↓ jumps to the bottom instantly.
What it does: Highlights the full row of your current cell.
How to use: Click any cell in the row, then press Shift + Space.
Example: Need to change the formatting for a whole row of data? One shortcut does it.
What it does: Highlights the full column of your current cell.
How to use: Click any cell in the column, then press Ctrl + Space.
Example: Applying currency formatting to all prices in Column D in one step.
What it does: Automatically inserts a SUM formula.
How to use: Click below a column of numbers (or next to a row) and press Alt + =.
Example: Adding up all monthly expenses in seconds without typing a formula.
What it does: Turns on filter drop-downs for your data range.
How to use: Highlight your table, press Ctrl + Shift + L.
Example: Quickly filtering a customer list by region or sales rep.
What it does: Repeats your last action, or in a formula toggles absolute/relative references.
How to use: Type a formula, click a cell reference, press F4 to add $ signs.
Example: Copying a formula down a column but keeping a tax rate fixed in cell B1 as $B$1.
What it does: Inserts new rows or columns at your selection.
How to use: Highlight where you want the row or column, press Ctrl + Shift + "+".
Example: Adding a new “Notes” column between existing data columns.
What it does: Removes the current selection.
How to use: Highlight a column or row, press Ctrl + "-".
Example: Removing a redundant “Old Address” column.
What it does: Breaks text into multiple columns based on a delimiter (space, comma, etc.).
How to use: Select your data, go to Data > Text to Columns, choose the delimiter, and finish.
Example: Splitting “John Smith” into separate First Name and Last Name columns.
What it does: Deletes duplicate records from your dataset.
How to use: Highlight your list, go to Data > Remove Duplicates, select columns to check.
Example: Cleaning a marketing email list to avoid sending duplicates.
What it does: Recognises and completes patterns in your data.
How to use: Type the first example, then press Ctrl + E.
Example: Extracting first names from a “Full Name” column without formulas.
What it does: Locks rows/columns so they remain visible while scrolling.
How to use: Place your cursor below the header row, go to View > Freeze Panes.
Example: Keeping “Product Name” and “Price” headings visible on a long product list.
What it does: Applies visual formatting when data meets criteria.
How to use: Highlight your range, go to Home > Conditional Formatting, set rules.
Example: Highlighting all overdue invoices in red.
What it does: Returns different results based on a condition.
How to use: =IF(A2>100,"Bonus","No Bonus").
Example: Marking sales above £100 as “Bonus” eligible.
What it does: Searches for a value in one table and returns a result from another column.
How to use: =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, FALSE).
Example: Looking up a product’s price from a product list using its ID.
What it does: Creates interactive summaries.
How to use: Select data, Insert > PivotTable, then drag fields into rows, columns, and values.
Example: Summarising sales by region and month from thousands of rows.
What it does: Opens formatting options for numbers, alignment, font, and more.
How to use: Select cells, press Ctrl + 1.
Example: Quickly switching date format from DD/MM/YYYY to MMM-YY.
What it does: Accesses ribbon commands using keyboard sequences.
How to use: Press Alt, then follow the on-screen letters.
Example: Alt, H, O, I auto-fits all selected columns to their content.
Visit our comprehensive range of one-day Microsoft Excel training courses. Each course is incredibly practical and designed for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Transform the way you work with data.
.png)