What Shortcuts Does the Mac Excel Shortcuts app Cover?
Quick Answer: Mac Excel Shortcuts app currently covers 58 confirmed shortcuts across Paste Special, borders, alignment, merging, rows/columns, filtering, and more — organized by category in the tables below. Every entry here has been tested and verified working; anything still in QA is left off this list until it's confirmed. That includes Remove Duplicates (Alt, A, M), which has no native Mac Excel shortcut at all and only works through Mac Excel Shortcuts app.
Mac Excel Shortcuts app works by recognizing the old Windows-style key sequence you already know — the same Ribbon Access Key chains from Alt, H, Alt, E, and Alt, A — and firing the correct Mac-native action for it, since macOS Excel has no Ribbon Access Key system of its own. Type the sequence below (don't hold the keys together, tap them one after another the way you would Ribbon Access Keys on Windows) and Mac Excel Shortcuts does the rest.
This list reflects what's verified working today. Mac Excel Shortcuts app is actively adding coverage — if a shortcut you rely on isn't here yet, it's either in testing or on the roadmap, not intentionally excluded.
Looking for Excel's built-in Mac shortcuts instead? See What Are the Mac Excel Keyboard Shortcuts? or the Complete Mac Excel Shortcut Cheat Sheet: Ribbon, Mouse and Mac Excel Shortcuts. To see the app in action, visit the Mac Excel Shortcuts app page.
How to read the tables and type a sequence
Each table lists the Windows-style sequence you type and the Mac action it triggers. A few habits keep sequences reliable:
Tap, do not hold. Press the keys one after another, the way you would use Ribbon Access Keys on Windows, instead of holding them together.
Start from a normal selection. Excel should be the frontmost app and you should not be in the middle of editing a cell.
Reuse what you already know. The sequences follow the classic Alt chains, so if you remember Alt, H and then a letter, you already know the shape.
Scan by category. Tables are grouped by task, such as Paste Special, Borders or Filtering, so it is quicker to jump to a heading than to read the whole page.
Paste Special
Type the classic Excel Paste Special accelerator (the letter after Alt, E, S) and Mac Excel Shortcuts runs the matching Mac paste action directly — no Paste Special dialog required.
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, E, S, V | Paste Values Only |
| Alt, E, S, T | Paste Formats Only |
| Alt, E, S, F | Paste Formulas Only |
| Alt, E, S, W | Paste Column Widths |
| Alt, E, S, E | Paste All Except Borders |
| Alt, E, S, N | Paste with Data Validation |
| Alt, E, S, C | Paste Comments / Notes |
| Alt, E, S, A | Paste All |
| Alt, E, S, U | Paste Formulas and Number Formats |
Column Width and Row Height
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, H, O, I | AutoFit Column Width |
| Alt, H, O, A | AutoFit Row Height |
| Alt, H, O, W | Set Column Width |
| Alt, H, O, H | Hide & Unhide (rows, columns, or sheet) |
Borders
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, H, B, A | All Borders |
| Alt, H, B, N | No Border |
| Alt, H, B, O | Outside Borders |
Font
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, H, F, C | Font Color |
| Alt, H, F, G | Increase Font Size |
| Alt, H, F, K | Decrease Font Size |
| Alt, H, 1 | Bold |
| Alt, H, 2 | Italic |
| Alt, H, 4 | Underline |
Alignment and Merge
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, H, A, C | Align Center |
| Alt, H, A, L | Align Left |
| Alt, H, A, R | Align Right |
| Alt, H, A, T | Align Top |
| Alt, H, A, M | Align Middle |
| Alt, H, A, B | Align Bottom |
| Alt, H, W | Wrap Text |
| Alt, H, M, C | Merge & Center |
| Alt, H, M, A | Merge Across |
| Alt, H, M, M | Merge Cells |
| Alt, H, M, U | Unmerge Cells |
Number Format
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, H, K | Currency Format |
| Alt, H, L | Percent Style |
Rows and Columns
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, H, I, R | Insert Sheet Rows |
| Alt, H, I, C | Insert Sheet Columns |
| Alt, H, D, R | Delete Sheet Rows |
| Alt, H, D, C | Delete Sheet Columns |
Filtering, Sorting, and Duplicates
This is the category that closes the biggest native gap — AutoFilter’s own toggle already works on Mac, but Remove Duplicates and Advanced Filter have no menu-free path until Mac Excel Shortcuts app adds one.
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Toggle AutoFilter on/off for the selected range |
| Alt, A, S, A | Sort A to Z |
| Alt, A, S, D | Sort Z to A |
| Alt, A, Q | Advanced Filter |
| Alt, A, M | Remove Duplicates |
Data Tools
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, M, S | Name Manager |
| Alt, M, M | Define Name |
| Alt, A, V, V | Data Validation |
| Alt, A, E | Text to Columns |
Protection
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, R, S | Protect Sheet |
| Alt, R, P | Protect Workbook |
View and Window
| Type this (old Windows shortcut) | What it does on Mac |
| Alt, W, F, F | Freeze / Unfreeze Panes |
| Alt, W, R | Freeze Top Row |
| Alt, W, C | Freeze First Column |
| Alt, W, H | Hide Workbook Window |
| Alt, W, U | Unhide Workbook Window |
| Alt, W, V, G | Toggle Gridlines |
Sheet Navigation
| Shortcut | What it does |
| Option + Right Arrow | Go to next sheet |
| Option + Left Arrow | Go to previous sheet |
Why some shortcuts need an app at all
Excel for Mac has no Ribbon Access Key system. On Windows, pressing Alt shows letters over the ribbon and you follow them. On a Mac, Option does not do that, so commands such as Remove Duplicates or Advanced Filter have no default keyboard route and you would normally reach them through menus. For the background, read what replaces ribbon access keys on Mac Excel and how to make Windows ribbon sequence keys work in Excel for Mac.
If a shortcut you need is not listed
This page only lists shortcuts that have been verified. A missing entry means it is still being tested or is on the roadmap, not that it was left out on purpose. In the meantime you can:
Check whether Excel has a native Mac shortcut in the Mac Excel shortcut cheat sheet.
Use the menu path or the ribbon button for that command.
Compare options in which apps make Excel shortcuts work on a Mac.
Setup: permissions the app needs
Because the app watches for key sequences and triggers actions in Excel, macOS asks you to grant it accessibility and keyboard permissions. If a listed sequence does nothing, permissions are the first thing to check. The steps are in why and how to give permissions to Mac Excel Shortcuts. If shortcuts also fail in plain Excel, see why Excel shortcuts do not work on Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Are these shortcuts built into Excel for Mac?
No. These are Windows-style sequences that the app recognises and turns into the matching Mac action. Excel's own built-in Mac shortcuts are covered in the cheat sheet linked above.
Do I hold the keys together or press them one by one?
Press them one after another, like Ribbon Access Keys on Windows.
Why does the list say 58 shortcuts when Excel has hundreds of commands?
The list only includes shortcuts that have been tested and confirmed. It grows as more are verified.
Does the list cover shortcuts Excel already has on Mac?
The focus is on Windows sequences that Excel for Mac lacks. For native Mac shortcuts such as saving or undoing, use the Windows to Mac cheat sheet.
A listed shortcut is not working. What should I check?
Confirm the app has the required permissions, make sure Excel is the active window, and type the sequence without pausing for long between keys.
