50 Essential Excel Shortcuts for Windows and Mac (Printable Cheat Sheet)
Most people use five or six Excel shortcuts and never learn more, because nobody hands them a short, trustworthy list. This is that list: fifty shortcuts that cover the majority of daily work, grouped by task, with the Windows keys and the Mac keys side by side. It is laid out to print cleanly, so you can turn it into a one-sheet PDF and keep it next to your keyboard.
Quick answer: On a Mac, most Windows Ctrl shortcuts become ⌘ (Command): ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘Z, ⌘S, ⌘B. The exceptions you most need to know are ⌃U to edit a cell, ⌃G for Go To, ⌃H for Replace, ⌃⇧L for filters and ⇧⌘T for AutoSum. The tables below hold the full list of 50. To keep them, press ⌘P, open the PDF menu and choose Save as PDF.
How to read these tables
Each table has the action, the Windows shortcut and the Mac shortcut. On a MacBook, the top row of keys defaults to brightness and volume, so any shortcut that uses F2, F4, F5, F9 or F11 needs the fn key as well, unless you have changed the setting. Our function keys guide shows how. Where a Mac keyboard has no Home or End key, the fn combinations in brackets do the job.
Symbols: ⌘ is Command, ⌃ is Control, ⌥ is Option, ⇧ is Shift. If you are new to the Mac keyboard, our modifier keys explainer covers what each key does.
1. Files, sheets and undo
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Save | Ctrl+S | ⌘S |
| Save As | F12 | ⇧⌘S |
| New workbook | Ctrl+N | ⌘N |
| Open | Ctrl+O | ⌘O |
| Ctrl+P | ⌘P | |
| Close workbook | Ctrl+W | ⌘W |
| Insert new sheet | Shift+F11 | ⇧F11 (fn on a MacBook) |
| Next sheet | Ctrl+Page Down | ⌥→ |
| Previous sheet | Ctrl+Page Up | ⌥← |
| Undo | Ctrl+Z | ⌘Z |
| Redo | Ctrl+Y | ⌘Y or ⇧⌘Z |
Save is the one habit worth building first. Press it after every meaningful change. Our guide to the Save and Save As shortcuts covers AutoSave and file formats, and the guide to undo and redo explains how far back Excel lets you go. For sheets, the full rundown is in new sheet and switch tabs shortcuts.
2. Editing cells
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | Ctrl+C | ⌘C |
| Cut | Ctrl+X | ⌘X |
| Paste | Ctrl+V | ⌘V |
| Paste Special | Ctrl+Alt+V | ⌃⌘V |
| Fill down | Ctrl+D | ⌘D |
| Fill right | Ctrl+R | ⌘R |
| Edit the active cell | F2 | ⌃U (or fn F2) |
| New line inside a cell | Alt+Enter | ⌃⌥Return |
| Insert today's date | Ctrl+; | ⌃; |
| Insert the current time | Ctrl+Shift+: | ⌘; |
| Insert a row | Ctrl+Shift+Plus | ⌃⇧= |
| Delete a row | Ctrl+Minus | ⌘- |
The two that change how people work are Paste Special and Fill down. Pasting values only is a daily task, so it is worth the second it takes to learn: copy with ⌘C, press ⌃⌘V, press V, then Return. See the paste values shortcut for the full sequence. Inserting dates and times is covered in insert date and time shortcuts, and the row and column commands in insert and delete rows and columns. For a line break inside a cell, see the new line shortcut on a Mac.
3. Moving around
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Jump to the edge of the data | Ctrl+Arrow | ⌘ + arrow key |
| Go to cell A1 | Ctrl+Home | ⌃Home (fn ⌃ ← on a MacBook) |
| Go to the last used cell | Ctrl+End | ⌃End (fn ⌃ → on a MacBook) |
| Go To dialog | Ctrl+G or F5 | ⌃G or F5 |
| Find | Ctrl+F | ⌃F |
| Replace | Ctrl+H | ⌃H |
Jumping to the edge of the data is the fastest way to navigate a large table. Add ⇧ to select as you go. Find and replace use ⌃F and ⌃H in Excel for Mac, and the dialog behaves like the Windows one. Our guide to Find, Replace, Go To and AutoSum shortcuts explains the variations.
4. Selecting
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Select all | Ctrl+A | ⌘A |
| Select the column | Ctrl+Space | ⌃Space |
| Select the row | Shift+Space | ⇧Space |
| Extend to the edge of the data | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow | ⇧⌘ + arrow key |
| Select visible cells only | Alt+; | ⇧⌘* |
Selecting a column with ⌃Space can collide with a macOS shortcut for switching input sources on some setups. If nothing happens, check System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Input Sources and change or disable the macOS shortcut. The Go To Special guide covers selecting visible cells, blanks and formulas.
5. Formatting
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | Ctrl+B | ⌘B |
| Italic | Ctrl+I | ⌘I |
| Underline | Ctrl+U | ⌘U |
| Format Cells dialog | Ctrl+1 | ⌘1 |
| Currency format | Ctrl+Shift+$ | ⌃⇧$ |
| Percent format | Ctrl+Shift+% | ⌃⇧% |
The number format shortcuts are a quiet time-saver in financial work. There are more of them than the two shown, one for each common format, and they follow the same pattern with a different symbol key. Our guide to Excel for finance professionals on Mac puts them to use.
6. Formulas and data
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| AutoSum | Alt+= | ⇧⌘T |
| Toggle absolute and relative reference | F4 | ⌘T or F4 (fn on a MacBook) |
| Show formulas instead of values | Ctrl+` | ⌃` |
| Calculate now | F9 | ⌘= |
| Turn filters on or off | Ctrl+Shift+L | ⌃⇧L |
| Create a table | Ctrl+T | ⌃T |
| Group rows or columns | Alt+Shift+Right Arrow | ⇧⌥→ |
Four of these deserve explanation. AutoSum adds up the cells next to the active cell. ⌘T (or F4) cycles a reference between absolute and relative, which you use constantly in formulas, and we explain it in the absolute reference guide. ⌃⇧L turns filters on and off, with details in AutoFilter shortcuts. And ⇧⌥→ groups selected rows or columns, which also works for grouping dates in a pivot table.
What is not on the list
Some common commands have no built-in key on either platform: freeze panes, merge cells and refreshing a pivot table. Our guides explain the workarounds, including freeze panes and merge cells. If you want Windows-style Alt sequences for those, the Mac Excel Shortcuts app adds them. It comes with a free trial that ends after 7 days or 10 shortcut uses, and after that it is a one-off payment of $49 or $4.99 a month.
How to turn this page into a one-page PDF
Press ⌘P, then use the PDF menu at the bottom left and choose Save as PDF. If you would rather build your own cheat sheet in Excel with only the shortcuts you use, our guide to fitting a sheet on one page as a PDF shows how to get the layout right, and how to save Excel as PDF on a Mac covers the export. Keeping a printed copy beside your keyboard works better than a bookmark, because you see it without having to look for it.
How to learn fifty shortcuts without trying
Do not memorise the list. Learn three shortcuts a week, chosen from the actions you do most. Print the sheet, tick the ones you have used, and swap the mouse for the keyboard on that action every time for a week. After a month you will have a dozen that are automatic, which is where most of the time saving comes from.
Common mistakes
Pressing Ctrl instead of ⌘ out of habit. Most Windows Ctrl shortcuts are ⌘ on a Mac.
Forgetting fn on a MacBook for F-key shortcuts.
Learning too many at once. Pick the three that match what you do daily.
Assuming Windows Alt sequences exist in Excel for Mac. They do not.
Printing the whole page and getting several pages. Save it as a PDF and print only the tables you need.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most useful Excel shortcut?
For most people it is Undo (⌘Z), followed by Save (⌘S), then jumping to the edge of data with ⌘ and an arrow key.
Are Excel shortcuts the same on Windows and Mac?
Mostly, with Ctrl replaced by ⌘. A minority differ completely, such as editing a cell (F2 vs ⌃U) and inserting a row.
Do these shortcuts work in older versions of Excel?
The common ones, such as copy, paste, save and undo, have been stable for many years. Newer commands vary by version, so check the labels on yours.
Can I print this as a PDF?
Yes. Press ⌘P and choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu.
Is there a shortcut for everything?
No. Several common commands have none by default. You can assign your own under Tools > Customize Keyboard, or use a utility.