Excel Basics 1: Shortcuts

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 Excel Basics 1: Shortcuts
1.0 hour

Ribbon/Alt Key Shortcuts .............................................................................................................................. 3

Quick Access Toolbar ................................................................................................................................ 4
Ctrl and Function Key Shortcuts.................................................................................................................... 4
Editing ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Clipboard ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Formatting................................................................................................................................................. 4
File Options ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Data Entry ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Worksheet ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Miscellaneous ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Navigating using the keyboard ..................................................................................................................... 5
Arrow Keys ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Enter Key ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Tab Key ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
PageUp Key ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Home Key .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Mouse Tricks ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Click on a cell ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Around the cell .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Moving and Duplicating Cells .................................................................................................................... 7
Fill Handle Options ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Uh-Oh ............................................................................................................................................................ 8
Exercise ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

Class Evaluation: https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Ojjkl6lRsKV3XT

Pandora Rose Cowart

Education/Training Specialist
UF Health IT Training

E206 Professional Park (352) 273-5051

PO Box 100002 [email protected]
Gainesville, FL 32610-0002 http://training.health.ufl.edu

Updated: 7/22/2022
Ribbon/Alt Key Shortcuts
A shortcut is a "faster" route to where you are going. There are common ones like copy (Ctrl-C) and
paste (Ctrl-V), and then there are ones that are only important to you. Sometimes when I want to paste
only the values and transpose the text I would push Alt-E S V E, Enter. That might not be one you want
to learn.

Let's break that one down. When you press the Alt button on the keyboard in a program like Microsoft
Excel, letters pop up in the ribbon at the top of the window. Depending on your version, you may have
different tab names, but you'll see something like this:

Unlike the control keys, you don't need to keep the Alt key down, once you press it the letters appear.

Notice there's no E, so where does my shortcut come from?

Well, from a much older version. In fact, if you push Alt and
then E, you'll get a message like this one.

Alt-E used to open the edit menu, S opened the Paste Special, V was for
values, E was for transpose, and Enter pushed the OK button.

So, if I wanted to update my keyboard shortcut to the current versions, I'd

need to find the new "path". Paste Special is on the Home Tab, so if I press
Alt-H, it will activate the Home tab's shortcuts. V will open the Paste menu.

From the paste menu, S will open the paste

special menu.

In this window you can see little underlines,

Hot Keys, marking the action letter of each
option. So again, if I want Values,
Transpose, and Okay - I would still type V E
Enter.

So, my updated shortcut would be

Alt-H V S V E ENTER.

Or you can click - Home Tab, Paste menu,

Paste Special, Values, Transpose, OK.

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For you, the mouse may be faster, or even using the right-click menu to get the Paste Special options.
Would it surprise you to know I had to actually do the shortcut a few times before I was able to put it in
this handout? I "know" it, but my fingers know it better. I'm don't think about it anymore, so while it
seems like complicated shortcut, it's one I have used so often it's become a habit.

Are there actions you do all the time that you think the keyboard may make faster? Well, check to see if
there's a file path. For example, to AutoFit a column, we double-click between the column headings.

But I can also find this option under the Format menu on
the right side of the Home tab. Follow the path and you'll
see the keyboard shortcut would be Alt-H O I.

Is Ctrl-A, Alt-H O I faster than clicking on the select all button in the top left corner of the window and
double clicking between any two headings? Depends on your preference. Are you good with
remembering sequences? The keyboard might slow you down at first, but once you get the hang of it,
you probably won't even give it another thought.

Quick Access Toolbar

The toolbar above the ribbon has the Save, Undo, and Redo options. If you right-click on any button in
the ribbon you can add it to the Quick Access toolbar. When you press the Alt-key you will see numbers
pop to make these quick shortcut keys if you want them.

Ctrl and Function Key Shortcuts

Hold the Ctrl key down, press the letter for the shortcut you desire.

Editing
F2 - Toggle between Edit and Enter Shift-F7 - Thesaurus
mode Ctrl-A - Select All (Once current range,
F4 - Repeat last action twice entire worksheet)
Ctrl-Y - Redo/Repeat the last action Ctrl-F - Find
Ctrl-Z - Undo Ctrl-H - Replace
F7 - Spell Check Ctrl-G - Goto (name or cell)

Clipboard
Ctrl-X - Cut Ctrl-D - Fill down
Ctrl-V - Paste Ctrl-R - Fill to the right
Ctrl-C - Copy Selected Cells Ctrl-' - Copies the cell above you
Ctrl-Shift-C - Format Painter (single quote) EXACTLY into the current cell

Formatting
Ctrl-1 - Open Format Cells Window Ctrl-Shift- 1 - Format Comma Style
Ctrl-Shift- 2 - Format Date dd-mmm-yyyy
Ctrl-B / Ctrl-2 - Toggle Bold Ctrl-Shift- 3 - Format Time h:mm AM/PM
Ctrl-I / Ctrl-3 - Toggle Italics Ctrl-Shift- 4 - Currency
Ctrl-U / Ctrl-4 - Toggle Underline Ctrl-Shift- 5 - Percent
Ctrl-5 - Toggle Strike through Ctrl-Shift- 6 - Scientific
Ctrl-9 - Hides column Ctrl-Shift- 7 - Outline Border
Ctrl-0 - Hides Row Ctrl-Shift- 8 - Select Dataset

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File Options
Ctrl-N - New Workbook Ctrl-S - Save
Ctrl-O - Open Workbook F12 - Save As
Ctrl-P - Print Preview Ctrl-W / Ctrl-F4 - Close Workbook

Data Entry
F2 - Toggle to Edit mode Ctrl-; - Enters current Date
Ctrl-D - Fill down Ctrl-Shift-; - Enters Current Time
Ctrl-R - Fill to the right Alt-Down Arrow - Opens a list of values from
the column above

Worksheet
Ctrl- + - Insert Shift-F11 - Insert a worksheet before the
Ctrl- - - Delete current one
Ctrl- Space - Select Column F11 - Insert a chart on a new sheet
Shift-Space - Select Row

Miscellaneous
F1 - Help! Ctrl-K - Hyperlink
Ctrl-F1 - Show/Hide Ribbon Ctrl-L - Create a Table
Ctrl-E - Flash Fill Ctrl-Q - Quick Analysis options

Navigating using the keyboard

Arrow Keys
Ready / Enter Mode Edit Mode Point Mode
Up↑ Down↓ Move between characters Select a cell for a
Move one cell
Left← Right→ in the cell formula
Select from current position Select the characters in the Select several cells
Shift-Arrow
down one cell cell for a formula
Moves to the range border
Ctrl-Arrow
(next blank)
Ctrl-Shift- Selects to the range border
Arrow (next blank)
Alt – Down ↓ Opens a drop-down menu of the entries listed above

Enter Key
Ready / Enter Mode Edit / Point Mode
Enter Move Down Accept and move down
Shift-Enter Move Up Accept and move up
Ctrl-Enter Accepts and fills current value or formula into all selected cells
Alt-Enter Puts a hard return, "enter" inside the cell

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Tab Key
Ready / Enter Mode Edit Mode / Point Mode
Tab Move Right Accept and move right
Shift-Tab Move Left Accept and move left
Ctrl-Tab Cycles through open workbooks
Alt-Tab Cycles through open programs

PageUp Key
Ready / Enter Mode Edit Mode Point Mode
PageUp / Move up/down several Choose a cell several Choose a cell several
PageDown rows rows above/below rows above/below
Select from current Select from current
Shift-PageUp / Choose multiple cells
position up/down several position up/down
Shift- PageDown above/below
cells several cells
Choose cell in
Ctrl-PageUp / Moves to the
previous/next
Ctrl-PageDown previous/next worksheet
worksheet
Ctrl-Shift-PageUp / Selects the previous/next
Ctrl-Shift-PageDown worksheet
Select from current
Alt-PageUp / Moves several columns Choose multiple cells
position left/right several
Alt-PageDown to the left/right to the left/right
cells

Home Key
Ready / Enter Mode Edit Mode Point Mode
Move to the beginning of Move to the beginning of Choose a cell at the
Home
the row the line beginning of the row
Choose multiple cells
Select to the beginning of Select to the beginning of
Shift-Home to the beginning of
the row the line
the row
Moves to the beginning of Moves to the beginning of
Ctrl-Home Chooses the first cell
the worksheet the cell
Chooses from the
Selects from the current cell Selects from the current
Ctrl-Shift- current cell to the
to the beginning of the cursor point to the
Home beginning of the
worksheet beginning of the cell
worksheet
Moves several columns to Select from current Choose multiple cells
Alt-Home
the right position right several cells to the right

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Mouse Tricks
Click on a cell
Ready / Enter Mode Edit Mode Point Mode

Single-Click Move to a cell Move to a place in the cell Choose a cell

Double-Click Edit Mode Select a word

Select from current cell Select from current cell to Choose from current cell to
Shift-Click
to clicked cell clicked cell clicked cell
Add to formula separating
Ctrl-Click Add to selection
by commas

Alt-Click Research

Around the cell

Drag the edge to move a cell or selection
Ctrl-Drag the edge to copy a cell or selection
Double-click on the edge of a cell to moves to the range border (next blank)
Double-click on the fill handle to fill the pattern/equation down to the end of the range border
Ctrl-Drag the Fill handle to Copy the cell instead of Fill Pattern

Drag the cell border or fill handle with the right-click and it will open a list of options.

Moving and Duplicating Cells

If you put your mouse over the border of the selected cell(s), you will get the Select Arrow.

Hover over the border and drag (don’t let go of the mouse) and a shadow will follow your mouse.
Let go and the select text will be Moved to the new location.

Drag means to click the left button on the mouse down, but not let go, and then move the mouse
where you want to go, then you can let go of the mouse.

Use the Ctrl button while dragging the mouse and you will see a small plus sign added to the
shadow. When you let go, Word will Duplicate the selection instead of moving it.

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Fill Handle Options
When you use the Fill Handle, you will notice a symbol appear in the right-hand bottom corner of your
newly filled cells. This icon ( ) represents your AutoFill Options. If you put your mouse over the icon
you will see a drop-down arrow that will give you a list of your fill options.

The four basic Fill Options are:

• Copy Cells – Repeat the cells along the selection
• Fill Series – Follow pattern along the selection
• Fill Format Only – Repeat the format of the cells along the selection
• Fill without Formatting – Follow the pattern along the selection, but not the format
• Flash Fill – Fills based on a pattern you establish in the same column

If you use the Fill Handle on cells with dates you will notice even more options:
• Fill Days
• Fill Weekdays
• Fill Months
• Fill Years
Number Fill Options Date Fill Options

Uh-Oh
Ctrl-Z - Undo

Esc - Cancel

Toss it all - Close without saving, it's the ultimate undo

F12 - Save as a different file

Ctrl-F4 - Close this window

Alt-F4 - Exit Excel

Pandora - [email protected]

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Exercise

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- Vocabulary
1. An Excel file is called a Workbook.
 Each workbook starts with one worksheet, but can have over 200
2. Ribbon broken into tabs (Home, Insert, Page Layout…)
 Tabs broken into groups (Clipboard, Font, Alignment)
3. Name box on the left and formula bar on the right
4. Columns Lettered, Rows Numbered, individual Cells
 Columns of a building, rows of chairs
5. Worksheet navigation buttons on the left, Worksheet tabs on the right
6. Status bar
 Excel behaves differently depending on what "mode" you are in

- Move around Excel

1. Ctrl- 
 Column XFD (16,384 - 214 )columns – SET AMOUNT)
2. Ctrl- 
 1,048,576 rows (220– SET AMOUNT)
3. Ctrl-Home
 Always returns to the top

- Working area
1. Type the letter "A" in cell G12 and press enter to accept
2. From the View Tab choose Page Break Preview
 Notice most of the area is grayed out, but you can still click in the cells
3. Click way down in the bottom right and type the letter "A", and press enter to accept
 The print area should snap to that cell. Every page in between A1 and that last
cell will be printed.

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 4. Move up one cell and press Delete (If you use Backspace you will also need to press
Enter.)
 The print area should snap back into place
5. From the Workbook Views in the View Tab choose Normal view
6. Ctrl-Home
7. Delete data in G12

- Change Zoom
1. From the View tab, click on Zoom button to change to 200%,
2. Change Zoom Manually to 150%
3. Play with + & - buttons on the zoom slider in the bottom right of the window
4. Press the Ctrl key and use the scroll wheel on your mouse
5. Ctrl-Home

- Moving around
1. Use keyboard arrows to move up, down, left and right
2. Use enter and tab to move down and over
3. Use Shift-Enter and Shift-Tab to move up and back

- Selecting Multiple Cells with the mouse

1. Drag mouse from middle of a cell diagonally across to another cell

- Difference between Tab/Enter and Arrows

1. Make a selection of cells (about three by three)
2. Use the enter key to move between the cells
3. Use the tab key
4. Use an arrow key
 Tab and Enter will stay within the selected range. Arrow keys like the mouse,
are pointers. They point to a location. Enter and tab are meant for data entry,
they accept and move on.

- Selecting Multiple Cells with the keyboard

1. Click in a cell, hold down the Shift key and click into another cell.
2. Let go of the Shift key and click anywhere to drop your selection.
3. Click in a cell, hold down the Shift key and at the same time use the arrow keys

- Entering Text (Enter Mode)

1. In all lower-case letters, type in cell B2: big city store
 Notice the status bar will change as soon as you begin to type from READY to
ENTER. Press Enter to accept.

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- Editing Text (Edit Mode) Name Box Cancel/Accept Formula bar

1. Double-click to "get inside" cell B2

 notice your status is now Edit
2. Change first letter of each word to uppercase
 Big City Store
3. Press Ctrl-Enter to accept.

- Editing Text (Edit Mode)

1. Click inside the Formula bar, and notice your status is now Edit.
 The Cancel and Accept buttons between the name box and the formula bar are
available when you are in Edit, Enter, and Point modes.

- Entering Text in Consecutive Cells

1. Type in cell C2
 Sale
2. Big City Store will be cut off by the Sale. If you're in cell B2, you can look at the Formula
bar to see the true contents still read "Big City Store"

- Adjust Column Widths

1. We cannot change the size of one cell, so we need to adjust the column
 Place your mouse between the column headings B and C and you will see
the
 Drag away from column heading B to make the column wider
 Drag toward column heading B to make the column skinnier
• Make it so you can only see Big City
 Move back to the resize double arrow and double-click on the line to AutoFit
 Now, AutoFit Column C

- Copy and Paste

1. Copy Cell B2, notice the dashed lines, the marquee, around the cell
2. Paste into another cell, paste into another cell (paste a few…)
3. Read the status bar, press enter to do a 'final paste'

- Cut and Paste

1. Cut Cell C2, notice the cell does not delete, but we have a marquee
2. Paste into an empty cell
 Notice the original NOW disappears
3. Cut and Paste "Sale" back into C2

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- Fill Handle
1. Take Fill handle from bottom left of cell C2 and drag it down two cells
 Creates two more 'Sale' cells
 Fill handle will be discussed at length in the next class
2. Click anywhere to drop your selection

- Moving Cells
1. Mouse over the edge of cell C2 until you get the arrows
 Click and drag to a blank cell to move the cell contents

- Duplicating Cells
1. Pick up a cell as if to move it and hold down the CTRL key at the same time, move to an
empty cell. Let go of the mouse BEFORE the keyboard

- Use Copy/Cut & Paste or Move/Duplicate Cells to organize your screen

1. Move all the Big City Stores to Column B, Rows 2-8
2. Move all the Sales to Column C, Rows 2-8
3. Delete all extras

- Move the dataset

1. Select all the data, move the mouse to the edge of the selection to get the arrows
2. Drag the whole block into columns D and E
3. Undo the move

- Insert Columns D E
2 Big City Store Sale
1. Right-click on Column Heading B, choose Insert
3 Big City Store Sale
2. Do it again so now data lives in D & E 4 Big City Store Sale
5 Big City Store Sale
- Delete Rows 6 Big City Store Sale
1. Select Row 3 through Row 8 7 Big City Store Sale
8 Big City Store Sale
2. Right-click and press the Delete button
3. Select D2 Through D8 and press Ctrl-D
4. Click on Sale, double-click the fill handle
5. Undo
6. Change Sale to Sale 1
7. Double-click the fill handle
 Should be Sale 1 … Sale 7
8. Change fill handle option to copy
9. Change back to Fill Series

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- Formatting Fonts with Home tab using the keyboard
1. Format Font (Cell D2) to Comic Sans
 Alt-H-FF-Comic-Enter
2. Format Size (Cell D3) to 15
 Alt-H-FS-15-enter
3. Format Bold (D4) – Ctrl-B
4. Italics (D5) – Ctrl-I
5. Double Underline (D6)
 Alt-H-3-D
6. Format Color (D7)
 Alt-H-FC-M-Enter
 Pick a color and press enter, or click OK
7. Edit Cell D8
 Press F2 to Edit
 Use the Home button on the keyboard to move to the beginning of the cell
 Use Shift-Ctrl-Right to select “Big” and Bold (Ctrl-B)
 Press the right arrow key to drop the selection
 Use Shift-Ctrl-Right to select “City” and Italicize (Ctrl-I)
 Press the right arrow key to drop the selection
 Use Shift-Ctrl-Right to select “Store” and Underline (Ctrl-U)

- Format Fonts with Format Cells window

1. Select Cell E2
2. Open the Format window with Ctrl-1
3. Use the left and right arrows to move through the tabs
4. Press Alt-S to jump to the Size – 14
5. Press Alt-O to jump to the Font Style, Use the up and down arrows to get Bold
6. Press Alt-C to jump to the colors, use the arrow keys and Enter, or the mouse to choose
a color
7. Press the tab key until you see an outline on the OK button and press enter or click on
the OK button

- Use Format Painter

1. In cell E2, click on the format painter
2. Dashed Marquee means we are copying
3. Click on cell D2, all changes happen at once
4. Try painter again, it turns off
5. Double-click to Keep on, press Esc (escape) to stop

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 6. Change all cells to this font
7. Cell D8 won't format, because we were fussy

- Format All
1. Ctrl-Home
2. Click on blank gray square between Column A and Row 1 to select the whole
spreadsheet, or press Ctrl-A
 Open the "more" fonts (Format Cells Window) Ctrl-1
 Choose Normal Font (Click the box as many times as needed to show a check
mark)
 Click OK to see the changes

- Create a new sheet

1. Click on the Plus sign next to Sheet 1 to create Sheet 2
 Or press Shift-F11

- Zoom to 200%

- Type in Data
1. Starting in B2 type: B
 B2 - 123 2 123
 B3 - 456 3 456
 B4 - 789 4 789

- Change the background color of ONLY Cell B3

- Format ONLY the Cell B2

1. Bold – Ctrl-B
2. Italics – Ctrl-I
3. Dollars – Ctrl-Shift-4 (think Ctrl-$)

- Use the Fill handle

1. Drag the fill handle from B2 to B4
2. Open the Fill handle options
3. Choose Fill without formatting
4. Choose Fill Formatting only
Source: http://media.news.health.ufl.edu/misc/training/Handouts/zoom/Excel/Excel-Basics1-Shortcuts.pdf

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