Best Microsoft Excel Shortcuts to Work Faster

If you use Excel often, keyboard shortcuts can save a huge amount of time. They make it faster to enter data, move through worksheets, format cells, and use Excel without constantly switching between keyboard and mouse. Microsoft’s official Excel shortcuts page says keyboard shortcuts help users work more efficiently and can be especially useful as an alternative to using a mouse.

The best Microsoft Excel shortcuts are usually the ones you repeat all the time: save, copy, paste, undo, format, open ribbon tabs, and move around a worksheet quickly. Microsoft’s Excel shortcuts guide is extensive, but a smaller group of shortcuts gives the biggest daily productivity boost for most users.

The Most Useful Everyday Excel Shortcuts

These are the ones most people should learn first.

Basic workbook shortcuts

Microsoft lists these among the most frequently used Excel shortcuts:

Ctrl + W = close a workbook
Ctrl + O = open a workbook
Ctrl + S = save a workbook
Ctrl + N is a common Office new-file shortcut, though the Excel page section shown here focuses on open, save, and close. For this post, stick to the Excel shortcuts Microsoft highlights directly on the page.

Copy, cut, paste, and undo

These are essential in almost every spreadsheet:

Ctrl + C = copy selection
Ctrl + X = cut selection
Ctrl + V = paste selection
Ctrl + Z = undo recent action
Delete = remove cell contents

These shortcuts are useful whether you are cleaning up data, copying formulas, or reorganizing a sheet.

Best Excel Ribbon Shortcuts

Excel’s ribbon shortcuts are some of the best ways to work faster without touching the mouse.

Microsoft says pressing Alt displays ribbon Key Tips, which let you open tabs and commands directly. Some of the most useful are:

Alt + H = open the Home tab
Alt + N = open the Insert tab
Alt + P = open the Page Layout tab
Alt + A = open the Data tab
Alt + M = open the Formulas tab
Alt + R = open the Review tab
Alt + W = open the View tab
Alt + F = open the File menu
Alt + Q = move to the Search or Tell Me field

These are especially useful when you know which tab contains the feature you need.

Best Excel Formatting Shortcuts

Formatting shortcuts save a lot of time in reports, budgets, dashboards, and shared worksheets.

Microsoft’s frequently used shortcuts include:

Ctrl + B = apply bold formatting
Alt + H, H = choose a fill color
Alt + H, B = add borders
Alt + H, A, C = center align cell contents

These are simple, but they make spreadsheet cleanup and presentation much faster.

Best Excel Shortcuts for Rows and Columns

These are especially useful in larger sheets.

Microsoft lists:

Alt + H, D, C = delete column
Ctrl + 9 = hide selected rows
Ctrl + 0 = hide selected columns

These shortcuts are handy when you are organizing data and want a cleaner worksheet view.

Best Excel Navigation Shortcuts

Navigation is one of the biggest time savers in Excel.

Microsoft’s page includes full sections for moving through cells and worksheets, but even from the frequently used section, the most useful keyboard-based idea is that ribbon access and context controls can reduce mouse use dramatically. Microsoft also notes that you can use Shift + F10 or the Windows Menu key to open the context menu.

For many users, the most practical navigation habit is combining:

ribbon shortcuts like Alt + H or Alt + A
selection shortcuts like Ctrl + A
context access with Shift + F10

Together, these speed up everyday worksheet work.

Best Excel Shortcuts for Data Work

Excel is often used for sorting, formulas, and worksheet cleanup, so these tab shortcuts matter a lot:

Alt + A = Data tab for sorting, filtering, and data tools
Alt + M = Formulas tab for working with functions and calculations
Alt + N = Insert tab for charts, PivotTables, Sparklines, and other objects

These are some of the most valuable shortcuts for users who work with data regularly.

Which Excel Shortcuts Should You Learn First?

If you only want to memorize a small set, start with these 10:

Ctrl + S = save
Ctrl + C = copy
Ctrl + X = cut
Ctrl + V = paste
Ctrl + Z = undo
Delete = clear cell contents
Ctrl + B = bold
Alt + H = Home tab
Alt + A = Data tab
Alt + M = Formulas tab

These cover the actions many Excel users repeat every day.

FAQ

What are the best Microsoft Excel shortcuts?

Some of the most useful everyday Excel shortcuts are Ctrl + S, Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + Z, Ctrl + B, Alt + H, Alt + A, and Alt + M, all listed on Microsoft’s Excel shortcuts page.