Last week, we showed you many keyboard shortcuts to save time in Microsoft Word. Did you find a few new favorites? I am now using CTRL-G, CTRL-K, F7, F10, and F12 on a regular basis, in addition to all of my old favorite shortcuts. I especially love Excel keyboard shortcuts because I don’t find myself using the mouse as much in Excel and keyboard shortcuts save me several minutes each day. Here is a list of common shortcuts for Excel (many of the Word shortcuts will also work the same way in Excel):
| CTRL SHIFT $ | Applies the Currency format with two decimal places |
| CTRL SHIFT % | Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places |
| CTRL SHIFT # | Applies the Date format with the day, month, and year. |
| CTRL SHIFT @ | Applies the Time format with the hour and minute, and AM or PM. |
| CTRL 1 | Displays the Format Cells dialog box |
| CTRL 2 | Bold text |
| CTRL 3 | Italicize text |
| CTRL 4 | Underline text |
| CTRL 5 | Strikethrough text |
| F1 | Excel help |
| F2 | Edits the active cell |
| F3 | Displays the Paste Name dialog box |
| F4 | Repeats the last command or action, if possible |
| F5 | Displays the Go To dialog box |
| F7 | Spell check |
| F10 | Menu mode |
| F12 | Save as dialog box |
| CTRL HOME | Moves to the beginning of the worksheet |
| CTRL PAGE DOWN | Moves to the next worksheet in the workbook |
| CTRL PAGE UP | Moves to the previous worksheet in the workbook |
| CTRL A | Select the entire worksheet |
| CTRL B | Bold text |
| CTRL C | Copy cells |
| CTRL D | Fill down command |
| CTRL F | Find dialog box |
| CTRL G | Go to dialog box |
| CTRL H | Replace dialog box |
| CTRL I | Italicize text |
| CTRL K | Insert hyperlink dialog box |
| CTRL N | New file |
| CTRL O | Open file |
| CTRL P | Print file |
| CTRL Q | Reset paragraph |
| CTRL R | Fill right command |
| CTRL S | Save file |
| CTRL T | Create table dialog box |
| CTRL U | Underline text |
| CTRL V | Paste text |
| CTRL W | Close file |
| CTRL X | Cut text |
| CTRL Y | Repeat or redo last command |
| CTRL Z | Undo last command |
| ALT F4 | Close file |
| TAB | Moves to the next cell |
| SHIFT TAB | Moves to the previous cell |
| CTRL SPACEBAR | Selects an entire column in a worksheet |
| SHIFT SPACEBAR | Selects an entire row in a worksheet |
| CTRL SHIFT SPACEBAR | Selects the entire worksheet |
In case you missed the inspiration for this shortcuts series, check out the current issue of Inc. magazine where a CEO describes how he will save 180 days over the course of his career (he defines his career as 40 years) simply by using keyboard shortcuts. And, search the list of Word shortcuts to find a few time-savers there too. You may not start out saving 780 keystrokes per day like the CEO in the article, but even if you can save 200 per day that still comes out to 48 full days over 40 years. What could you do with that extra eight weeks?
We have the shortcut lists for Outlook, PowerPoint, and Windows in general almost finished. Which list would you like to see next week? Do you have any favorites you want to share? Thanks to Facebook fan Jan-Erik Schoultz for sharing a few of his favorite Windows shortcuts last week.
[Image courtesy of thesaint]