Excel Online – Keyboard Shortcuts and Tips You Should Know

Do you use Excel Online every day and want to speed up your work? Excel keyboard shortcuts can help you do just that. They’ll save you time when navigating the worksheet, formatting data, creating formulas, and performing many other tasks. Learn the most important Excel shortcuts that will make your work much more efficient.

Basic Excel shortcuts you should know

Let’s start with the absolute basics. If you’re just getting started with the online version of Excel, the shortcuts in the list below will definitely come in handy:

• Ctrl + C – copy the selected text,
• Ctrl + X – cut the selected portion,
• Ctrl + V – paste a copied or cut selection,
• Ctrl + Z – undo the last action,
• Ctrl + S – save the document,
• Ctrl + B – bold text,
• Ctrl + I – italics,
• Ctrl + U – underline text.

These are some fairly common and versatile keyboard shortcuts for Excel that will make your daily work easier. You won’t have to click through the menu options with your mouse every time—just use the appropriate key combination.

When working with Excel Online, you may also find a few other shortcuts useful:

• Ctrl + N – create a new worksheet,
• Ctrl + O – open an existing worksheet,
• Ctrl + P – print the worksheet,
• Ctrl + F – opens the search window,
• Ctrl + H – open the replace window,
• Ctrl + K – insert a hyperlink,
• Ctrl + D – fill down (copy the contents of the top cell to the cells below),
• Ctrl + R – Fill to the right (copies the contents of the cell on the left to the cells on the right).

These Excel shortcuts will help you quickly perform common tasks—such as creating new worksheets, searching for data, or copying cell contents.

Excel Shortcuts – Navigating the Worksheet and Selecting Cells

Excel Online also offers several keyboard shortcuts that make it easier to navigate the worksheet and select cells:

• arrows – move up, down, left, or right between cells,
• Ctrl + arrow key – move to the end of the data block,
• Shift + arrow key – select cells in a specific direction,
• Ctrl + Space – select the entire column,
• Shift + Space – select the entire line,
• Ctrl + A – select the entire worksheet,
• Ctrl + Shift + * – select the current region around the active cell,
• Ctrl + Shift + & – Apply a border to the selected cells.

Here’s another handy tip: In Excel Online, you can use the F5 key to open the “Go To” dialog box. This lets you quickly jump to a specific cell by entering its address—for example, A1 or C25. If you often work with large spreadsheets, you’ll soon find this to be a very useful feature.

Another useful shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + 8. It selects all cells containing formulas. This makes it easy to find and check the formulas in your spreadsheet.

Keyboard shortcuts – formatting and editing data

Excel keyboard shortcuts are also useful when formatting and editing data. Here are a few of them:

• Ctrl + 1 – opens the cell formatting window,
• Ctrl + Shift + ~ – apply the general format,
• Ctrl + Shift + $ – apply currency format,
• Ctrl + Shift + % – apply percentage format,
• Ctrl + Shift + # – apply date format,
• Ctrl + Shift + @ – apply time format,
• F2 – edit the active cell,
• F4 – repeat the last action,
• Alt + Enter – start a new line in the same cell.

Use these shortcuts instead of formatting the cell manually—you'll save a lot of time this way.

If you want to quickly create a pivot table based on selected data, use the Ctrl + Shift + L shortcut. Pivot tables are a very useful tool for analyzing and summarizing data, and with this shortcut, you can create them in a flash.

Ctrl + '-' (minus) deletes the selected rows, and Ctrl + Shift + '+' (plus) inserts new rows above the active cell. The shortcuts Ctrl + Shift + '-' (minus) and Ctrl + '+' (plus) work in the same way—they do the same thing, but with columns.

Excel shortcuts for working with formulas and functions

Excel Online is a powerful tool for calculations. Below are some useful Excel keyboard shortcuts related to formulas and functions:

• = (equals sign) – start entering a formula,
• Shift + F3 – insert function,
• Ctrl + Shift + Enter – enter an array formula,
• F9 – recalculate all formulas in the worksheet,
• Ctrl + ` (backtick) – toggle between displaying values and formulas,
• Ctrl + Shift + U – expand or collapse the formula bar.

With these Excel shortcuts, you can quickly enter the formulas and functions you need. No more tedious manual typing every time!

If you want to quickly insert the AUTOSUM function, which sums the values in the selected range, use the Ctrl + Shift + A shortcut . This is an extremely useful feature when working with numerical data.

Pressing the F3 key opens the "Paste Name" dialog box . This allows you to quickly insert the name of a range you previously defined into a formula. This makes working with formulas much easier, especially when you're working with multiple data ranges.

Other useful Excel keyboard shortcuts

There are a few more Excel keyboard shortcuts worth knowing that don’t fit into any of the categories listed above:

• Alt + F1 – Create a chart based on the selected data,
• Alt + Shift + F1 – insert a new sheet,
• Ctrl + F1 – hide or show the ribbon,
• Ctrl + F2 – display a print preview,
• Ctrl + Shift + ; (semicolon) – insert the current date,
• Ctrl + ; (semicolon) – insert the current time,
• Alt + Shift + Right Arrow – group rows or columns,
• Alt + Shift + Left Arrow – Ungroup rows or columns.

With these few Excel shortcuts, you’ll be able to navigate the spreadsheet even more efficiently and make use of the program’s various features. It’s worth taking the time to learn them—you’ll definitely appreciate knowing them in the future.

Fun facts about Excel you might not have known

Did you know that:

• Excel can speak —it has an option to read text from a selected range. All you need to do is add the appropriate command to the Quick Access Toolbar;
• In Excel, you can view all the formulas in a worksheet at once. To do this, use the Ctrl + ` (accent) shortcut;
• Excel can take photos —just add the "Camera" command to the Quick Access Toolbar;
• Excel includes a calculator —you can also add it to the Quick Access Toolbar;
• Excel has a touch mode that increases the spacing between commands on the ribbon and makes it easier to work on touchscreen devices.

Excel keyboard shortcuts – they’ll come in handy in your daily work

Anyone who works with spreadsheets will eventually learn to use keyboard shortcuts. This makes many tasks in Excel much easier and faster. Most of them also work in the desktop version of the Office spreadsheet application.

There are quite a few shortcuts, though—is there a way to remember them all? No one expects you to memorize the entire list by heart. You don’t need to know all the combinations right away— start with the most important ones and gradually expand your knowledge. Over time, you’ll find that it would be hard to work without them.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I select the entire worksheet in Excel Online?

Use the Ctrl + A shortcut to select the entire worksheet.

• How do I start entering a formula in Excel Online?

Type an equal sign (=) in the cell where you want to enter the formula to begin typing it.

• How do I switch between displaying values and formulas in Excel Online?

Press Ctrl + ` (backtick) to toggle between displaying values and formulas.

• How do I open the cell formatting window in Excel Online?

To open the cell formatting window, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 1.

• How do I repeat the last action in Excel Online?

When you press the F4 key, Excel will repeat your previous action.