• About
    • Contact
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclosure Policy
  • Write for Us!
  • Advertise

Money Propeller

Propelling you toward your money goals by discussing lifestyle, career and savings.

  • Authors
  • Career
    • Career
    • Education
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Clothing
    • Food
    • Housing
    • Sports
    • Weddings
    • Travel
  • Money
    • Money
    • Investing
    • Saving
    • Stories
  • Observations
  • Link Ups
  • Blogroll

My Fav Excel Hot Keys

By Anne 12 Comments

My Fav Excel Hot Keys

We already talked about the hot keys that you must know about if you’re a blogger. Now, let’s turn to the ones that I find myself using constantly in Excel. Of note, there are many, many, many hot keys in Excel, even before you start creating your own, or writing macros that execute on hot keys.

My spouse likes to set one up in Excel that applies a specific style of custom formatting, for example.  It’s very handy when you’re constantly working with the same type of data, but in a million different spreadsheets.  Click, click, done.

This list here is just the ones that I myself use regularly.  I’m also trying to learn some more, as they are so, so efficient.  Lately I’ve been learning how to add rows to tables in PowerPoint, Outlook and Word using hot keys. It’s pretty handy for my day-job.

Ctrl + D

This fills a cell with whatever is in the cell above it. Let’s say that the line above says $0.25 and you want this one to say the same thing, then press Ctrl + D. I find it most useful when you are thinking about each line, not necessarily filling a big section with the same value, because there is another way to do which is much faster.

Ctrl + ‘

This fills a cell with whatever is in the VISIBLE cell above it. It works just the same as Ctrl + D, but works in filtered lists. Usually, I am filtering in order to have similar things showing, so this one comes in handy.

Ctrl + R

Just like the last two, this fills a cell with whatever is in the cell to the left.  Want to extend your formatting one space over for a new header column?  Ctrl + R is your buddy.

Ctrl + Arrow

Use this to jump to the last populated cell in a section. If you want to find out how long a data set is that just dumped from a server, go to a column that has a value in every cell and pop down to the bottom quickly with Ctrl + Down.  This jumps to the last cell in a populated area, so if you have stuff in cells A1 through C1, nothing in D1 and stuff in E1 through H1, you’ll end up in C1, not H1 if you press Ctrl + Right.

Ctrl + Shift + Arrow

This jumps around the same way as Ctrl + Arrow, but selects all of the cells.  If you want a sum, count and average for a column, row, or grouping, select the whole thing using Ctrl + Shift + Arrow and then look at the bottom right corner of your screen.  Fast, fast, fast.  And handy.

F2

If you punch F2 while you are in a cell, it will edit the formula in the cell.  So? Hitting F2 brings up all of the coloured outlines, so you can see what is what.

Shift F2

This one opens a cell comment to edit, if one is there already, or it adds one and lets you start typing right away.

I am sure that I use more than these on a regular basis, but these ones are my favourite Excel hot keys, for sure.  Combine them with some must-know hot keys for bloggers and you are off to the races with a more efficient work day (or work evening!).

What are your go-to Excel hot keys?

Filed Under: Career Tagged With: Excel Hot Keys

About Anne

Anne dreams of financial independence and is working her way towards it, whilst still enjoying life. She has a penchant for gift giving, which got her started with her first blog, Unique Gifter. She also loves money (who doesn't?) and needed an outlet to discuss it. Her likes? Seafood, figure skating, road cycling and skater shoes.

Comments

  1. Morris Edwards says

    June 29, 2017 at 01:37

    Hello Anne,

    Thanks for sharing with us!

    Well these Excel hot keys are just awesome. I know few of them but you just add some good one to my knowledge. I am so glade I found your post. These shortcuts really helpful.

    Great job!
    Morris Edwards recently posted…Beginner’s Guide to: Editing Transactions In MYOBMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Eleni says

    September 25, 2014 at 12:46

    Ctrl + ; (Semi-colon) – Enters the current date, not as a formula, but as a constant. It’s really helpful when you have no idea what the date is, or if you’re like me and use a French computer at work and an English setup at home, and can’t remember how the date format is for each language. I think in french it’s DD/MM/YYYY, and in English it’s MM/DD/YYYY – or is it the other way around? Regardless of the date I want to enter, I use this shortcut and then edit it with the date I want.

    Ctrl + : (colon) – Enters the current time.

    Reply
    • Anne says

      September 25, 2014 at 13:10

      That’s a nice one! I rarely use dates, but I should try to remember it. That’s a good point about the date format flipping due to language (or to continent, Aussie/Brit/NZ vs US/Can).

      Reply
  3. Brandy @ Busted Budget says

    September 23, 2014 at 06:52

    Oh I like these! Thanks for sharing!
    Brandy @ Busted Budget recently posted…Where Were You 10 Years Ago?My Profile

    Reply
    • Anne says

      September 23, 2014 at 07:06

      Anytime, I have lots more!

      Reply
  4. Pauline says

    September 22, 2014 at 18:29

    If you want to put the same value in all cells going down, you can also drag the filled cell down, and if it has a value, say C1+D1 and you drag it, it will add C2+D2, etc.
    Pauline recently posted…Side hustle ideas, part 5My Profile

    Reply
    • Anne says

      September 23, 2014 at 07:05

      Yup yup! And you can also double click the little black crosshairs and it will fill down as far as the contents of the adjacent cells go.

      Reply
  5. debs @ debt debs says

    September 22, 2014 at 15:53

    Enter let’s you put another line it the same cell, rather than have it wrap around.
    Never used D R and ‘. I’ll have to try to get into the practice!
    debs @ debt debs recently posted…Frugal FinCon Fiesta – Ask me AnythingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Anne says

      September 23, 2014 at 07:05

      I learned the fill-related ones when I looked them up after having tasks where I did that a lot. Now I don’t do that as often, but they are hardwired into my brain.

      Reply
    • debs @ debt debs says

      September 29, 2014 at 14:39

      sorry I think that should be alt + enter. I guess I typed it up with the “” symbols (stupidly) and html ignored them.
      debs @ debt debs recently posted…Frugal FinCon Fiesta Update & Blogger AwardsMy Profile

      Reply
  6. Leslie Beslie says

    September 22, 2014 at 05:18

    Ugh, Excel has the worst keyboard shortcuts. The most awkward one, but also useful, is to navigate between worksheet tabs while in a document. You have to use ctrl+page down/up. It’s super awkward (especially on a laptop) and takes both hands! but sometimes it can save time.
    Leslie Beslie recently posted…Exploring the Bronx: Little Italy on Arthur AvenueMy Profile

    Reply
    • Anne says

      September 22, 2014 at 07:38

      I love a lot of the ones in Excel! I’ve never used that with page up and down to switch tabs, but with my work keyboard, it would be easy. Thanks!
      Anne recently posted…My Fav Excel Hot KeysMy Profile

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Follow Us:


Subscribe today and receive our calculator for free!

airbnb

advertise here

Free Money!

Tangerine Refer a Friend Open a new Tangerine Account with $100 using my Orange Key 23676924S1 and we both get a free $25.

Popular Content

The 20/10 Rule that Does Wonders!

Airbnb is an affordable and flexible way to travel

Stock up and save big! Have fun while saving your pennies

Affiliates

Money Propeller is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Money Propeller also participates in other affiliate programs from time to time. That means that if you click through a link and make a decision to purchase, Money Propeller will receive some compensation from the vendor, at no cost to you.

The Bottom

You made it all the way to the bottom! Thanks so much for reading.
Did you know that The Bottom is the name of a town on the island of Saba, in the Caribbean? I went there on a trip once.
The other bottoms I think about are my own bottom, and the bottom of the champagne bottle. Often when I find the bottom of the champagne bottle, my own bottom grows. Funny, that.

Thanks for reading!

- Anne

Disclaimer

The content on this website is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. Should you need such professional advice, consult a licensed financial advisor or tax advisor. This website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. Please click here for disclosure full details.
Copyright Money Propeller All Rights Reserved
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT