Here are 22 keyboard shortcuts varying in usefulness.
Cell Formatting
| Shortcut | What it does: | Usefulness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+& | Applies the outline border to the selected cells. | ||
| Ctrl+Shift_ | Removes the outline border from the selected cells. | ||
| Ctrl+1 | Displays the Format Cells dialog box. |
Adding and Editing a Comment
| Shortcut | What it does: | Usefulness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift+F2 | Adds or edits a cell comment. |
Date
| Shortcut | What it does: | Usefulness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+# | Applies the Date format with the day, month, and year. | ||
| Ctrl+; | Enters the current date. |
File Commands
| Shortcut | What it does: | Usefulness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| F12 | Displays the Save As dialog box. |
Number Formatting
| Shortcut | What it does: | Usefulness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+~ | Applies the General number format. | ||
| Ctrl+Shift+$ | Applies the Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers in parentheses). | ||
| Ctrl+Shift+% | Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places. | ||
| Ctrl+Shift+^ | Applies the Scientific number format with two decimal places. | ||
| Ctrl+Shift+! | Applies the Number format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values. |
Text Formatting
Time
| Shortcut | What it does: | Usefulness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+@ | Applies the Time format with the hour and minute, and AM or PM. | ||
| Ctrl+Shift+: | Enters the current time. |
Summary
Keyboard shortcuts allow you to perform nearly every command in Excel without moving your hand back and forth to the mouse from the keyboard. Learning and using a few shortcuts can make your work much more efficient.