Microsoft Excel can be difficult for new users to get around in. They may find themselves clicking the wrong areas, or have trouble locating commands within the tool bars. There are several keyboard shortcuts that are beneficial to anyone who uses this program. These are especially useful if you have problems with your mouse or simply prefer to use the keys on the keyboard.

Navigation Within Excel

CTRL + Home – This shortcut will move you to the beginning of your worksheet. The active cell will typically become A1, or the first cell located in the top left corner of the page.

CTRL + End – This combination of keys will all your active cell to become the one located in the bottom right corner of your worksheet.

CTRL + N – These two keys open a new worksheet when pressed at the same time.

Data Selection

CTRL + Click – This keyboard shortcut will provide you with the ability to select a number of cells at one time. You would normally click your mouse and drag the cursor across the page to select more than one cell. However, by pressing the CTRL key, you can select cells that are not touching each other.

CTRL + A – These two keys, when pressed together, will allow you to select the entire worksheet.

CTRL + C – This shortcut makes a copy of the cells you have just selected. They will be appended to the clipboard, and can be pasted somewhere else on the worksheet, or into a new worksheet.

CTRL + V – Pressing these two keys together will allow you to quickly paste the cells you have previously copied.

Font Formatting in Excel

The following keyboard shortcuts will apply to the text within an active cell. Additionally, they will also alter the text within each cell if many cells are currently selected.

CTRL + B – Bolds the text

CTRL + I – Italicizes the data

CTRL + U – Underlines the text