Excel is one of the most popular programs used by millions of students, accountants, financial experts, managers, marketers, and other professionals. However, sometimes using this program might take you tons of time. The reason is that formatting and using additional software’s functions often takes plenty of time.
Fortunately, using shortcuts can significantly speed up your work. We’ve collected a list of the most convenient and useful shortcuts so that you can use the program much easier.
Table of Contents
Before You Start Exploring the Hotkeys
Using hotkeys can make you more productive when using Excel. However, they will not help you complete your tasks or academic assignments in a matter of moments. If you are a student who needs to compose a report using this program and meet an extremely urgent deadline, it might be good to start using studybay or similar websites that provide academic assistance. This way, you will get all the papers done fast and with minimum effort. If you still want to complete your assignment by yourself, continue reading this post to find out the handiest shortcuts to use in Excel.
Select the Entire Column/Row
If you have data stored in your sheets or in case you work with big data volumes, selecting the entire row or column might easily help you format your cells in no time. In other words, selecting the column or row will allow you to modify cells and benefit from using bulk formatting. So, use [SHIFT] + [Spacebar] to select the entire row and press [CTRL] + [Spacebar] for selecting a particular column.
Total Sum
Summarizing the data stored in the selected cells is one of the most common operations performed by most Excel users. Most enthusiasts use tabs located at the top of the program’s panel to get access to this function. However, we’ve got good news for those who often use total sum. You can perform this operation much faster! Just select the needed cells you want to sum, click on the empty cell where you would like to see the results, and press [Alt] + [=].
Hide or Show Formulas
Making various calculations in Excel is used with the help of various types of formulas. However, sometimes you might need to check all the formulas you’ve used on the sheet. Now, you don’t need to click each cell to make sure you’ve used the correct one. Just press [CTRL] + [~] to make all the formulas visible. Use the same combination to hide them after you’ve successfully checked your data.
Zoom In and Out
If you want to navigate in a huge spreadsheet in a matter of moments, the zoom feature is here to help. Finally, you don’t need to scroll your document up and down to make sure it looks as needed. Feel free to use [CTRL] + [ALT] + [=] and [CTRL] + [ALT] + [-] to zoom in and out. Using this function is as easy as a piece of cake!
Start a New Line in a Cell
Earlier, this operation was one of the most time-consuming when working with the program. Moreover, many people used third-party text processors to copy and paste data in the needed format. Now, you can forget about this tedious activity and use [Alt] + [Enter] instead.
Add a Current Date
Adding a current date is a must for many Excel documents. If you are tired of performing this operation manually, it’s easy to automate it. Thanks to hotkeys, you can do this in a blink of an eye. Press [Ctrl] + [Colon] to insert the current date.
Edit an Active Cell
The process of editing an active cell is usually pretty straightforward. However, if you are using your mouse for other purposes, like scrolling the spreadsheet or choosing commands, editing a cell appears to be complicated. To make your job easier, press [F2] to start editing an active cell. To confirm the change, press [Enter].
Insert a Column/Row
Users often need to insert a row and a column when formatting the spreadsheet. However, this operation has always been annoyingly complicated. You will be glad to discover that it can be done much easier. All you need is to press [CTRL] + [+] before the current selection.
Delete a Row/Column
The process of deleting a column or row has never been straightforward. As a rule, it took a lot of time. Fortunately, you can now perform the operation in a blink of an eye. The shortcuts [CTRL] + [-] are always here to help.
Hide a Column
If you often need to compare different data stored in the different columns of your spreadsheet, it might be convenient to hide the one you currently don’t need. Excel offers a handy shortcut for these purposes. To hide a column, use [CTRL] + [0] and benefit from making the process handier.
All in all, the shortcuts are designed to simplify the process of using the program. If you hesitate whether using shortcuts is good for you, just try! You will be happy to discover how easy your working process can be!
