Excel Shortcuts PDF: Printable Cheat Sheet for Windows and Mac
People search for an Excel shortcuts PDF because they want a sheet they can print, pin up or keep on a phone. This page gives you the part that matters most: the 25 shortcuts to learn first, with the Windows and Mac keys side by side. It then points you to longer lists for specific needs and shows how to turn any of them into a PDF on a Mac.
Quick answer: The 25 shortcuts in the first table cover most daily work. To get a PDF, press ⌘P on this page and choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu at the bottom left. On a Mac, most Windows Ctrl shortcuts become ⌘ (Command), with a few exceptions such as ⌃U to edit a cell, ⌃G for Go To and ⌃⇧L for filters.
The 25 shortcuts to learn first
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Save | Ctrl+S | ⌘S |
| Save As | F12 | ⇧⌘S |
| Print, or save as PDF on a Mac | Ctrl+P | ⌘P |
| Undo | Ctrl+Z | ⌘Z |
| Redo | Ctrl+Y | ⌘Y or ⇧⌘Z |
| Copy | Ctrl+C | ⌘C |
| Cut | Ctrl+X | ⌘X |
| Paste | Ctrl+V | ⌘V |
| Paste Special | Ctrl+Alt+V | ⌃⌘V |
| Select all | Ctrl+A | ⌘A |
| Find | Ctrl+F | ⌃F |
| Replace | Ctrl+H | ⌃H |
| Bold | Ctrl+B | ⌘B |
| Format Cells | Ctrl+1 | ⌘1 |
| Edit the active cell | F2 | ⌃U |
| Fill down | Ctrl+D | ⌘D |
| Jump to the edge of the data | Ctrl+Arrow | ⌘ + arrow key |
| Select to the edge of the data | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow | ⇧⌘ + arrow key |
| Go To | Ctrl+G | ⌃G |
| Insert today's date | Ctrl+; | ⌃; |
| AutoSum | Alt+= | ⇧⌘T |
| Toggle absolute reference | F4 | ⌘T or F4 |
| Turn filters on or off | Ctrl+Shift+L | ⌃⇧L |
| Next sheet | Ctrl+Page Down | ⌥→ |
| Insert new sheet | Shift+F11 | ⇧F11 |
These are the keys that appear in nearly every list because they are used in nearly every workbook. If you learn only the first ten, Save, Undo, Copy, Cut, Paste, Paste Special, Select all, Find, Bold and Format Cells, you will already be working noticeably faster. Each shortcut here is explained in depth in our guides, which are linked from the longer lists below.
Windows and Mac: what changes
On a Mac, the Command key (⌘) does most of the jobs that Ctrl does on Windows: copy, paste, save, undo, bold and select all. A smaller group uses Control (⌃) instead, including editing a cell, Go To, Replace, Paste Special and filters. And a few have no Mac equivalent at all, such as the Windows Alt-key ribbon sequences. Our guide to converting Windows Excel shortcuts to Mac explains the logic, and the Windows to Mac shortcut cheat sheet lists the translations.
If the symbols are unfamiliar: ⌘ is Command, ⌃ is Control, ⌥ is Option and ⇧ is Shift. The guide to Mac modifier keys covers each one, and where the Alt key went answers the question every Windows migrator asks.
Does the version of Excel matter?
For this list, hardly. Excel 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365 share almost all of these shortcuts, and so do Excel for Windows 10 and 11. The differences are in newer features. Flash Fill, dynamic array formulas such as FILTER and XLOOKUP, and some ribbon commands exist only in more recent versions. If a shortcut does nothing, the cause is far more often your keyboard settings than your version of Excel.
Which cheat sheet do you need?
| You want | Go to |
|---|---|
| A longer list, grouped by task | 50 essential Excel shortcuts for Windows and Mac |
| Power-user keys: Flash Fill, precedents, arrays | Advanced Excel shortcuts for Windows and Mac |
| Function syntax and examples | Excel formulas cheat sheet |
| A one-page sheet of your own | Make your own Excel shortcut cheat sheet |
| The Mac list in one place | Mac Excel shortcut cheat sheet |
| Windows keys translated to Mac | Windows to Mac Excel shortcut cheat sheet |
| Windows Alt sequences on a Mac | What Shortcuts Does the Mac Excel Shortcuts app cover |
The longer lists are here:
50 essential Excel shortcuts for Windows and Mac: the next step after this page, grouped by task in six tables.
Advanced Excel shortcuts for Windows and Mac: Flash Fill, precedents, array formulas and the commands that have no shortcut.
Excel formulas cheat sheet: forty functions with syntax and examples.
Make your own Excel shortcut cheat sheet: build a personal one-pager and save it as a PDF.
Mac Excel shortcut cheat sheet and the printable PDF of Mac Excel shortcuts: the Mac-focused reference.
How to save any of this as a PDF on a Mac
There are two routes, and both take under a minute.
Print this page. Press ⌘P, open the PDF menu in the bottom left of the print dialog and choose Save as PDF. Tables print best in landscape.
Build your own in Excel. Put your favourite shortcuts in a sheet and export it. Our guide to making your own cheat sheet covers the layout, and the guides on fitting a sheet on one page and saving Excel as a PDF on a Mac cover the page settings and the export.
A PDF is a good format for a cheat sheet because it looks the same on every device, opens instantly in Quick Look when you press the space bar in Finder, and prints exactly as designed.
When a shortcut does not work
The usual causes are on the Mac side, not in Excel.
| Shortcut | macOS may use it for | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| ⌃Space | Switching input sources | Change it in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Input Sources |
| ⌃ with arrow keys | Mission Control and moving between Spaces | Change it in Keyboard Shortcuts > Mission Control |
| ⌘Space | Spotlight | Not used by Excel, so no conflict |
| F-keys | Brightness and volume | Hold fn, or turn on standard function keys |
If the F-keys are the problem, our function keys guide explains the setting. If nothing works at all, read why Excel keyboard shortcuts stop working on a Mac, and if they stopped after an update, see shortcuts that stopped working after a macOS update.
Getting Windows-style shortcuts on a Mac
Excel for Mac does not have the Windows Alt-key sequences, such as Alt, H, V, V for Paste Values. If those are in your fingers, you have a few options, compared in our guide to apps that make Excel shortcuts work on Mac. One of them is the Mac Excel Shortcuts app, which is built for exactly that. It has a free trial that ends after 7 days or 10 shortcut uses, then costs a one-off $49 or $4.99 a month. The list of sequences it covers shows which commands are included.
Common mistakes
Collecting long lists and learning none. Pick a few and use them daily.
Pressing Ctrl on a Mac out of habit.
Forgetting fn for F-key shortcuts on a MacBook.
Printing a huge list that has to be scrolled, rather than a one-page sheet.
Assuming a shortcut is missing when macOS has claimed the key.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get an Excel shortcuts PDF?
Press ⌘P on this page and choose Save as PDF, or build your own in Excel with our guide to making a personal cheat sheet. Both give you a PDF you can print or keep on your phone.
What are the most important Excel shortcut keys?
Save, Undo, Copy, Paste, Paste Special, Select all, Find, Bold and Format Cells. The table above lists them for Windows and Mac.
Are the shortcuts the same in every version of Excel?
The common ones are. Newer features differ by version, but copy, paste, save, undo and navigation have been stable for many years.
What is the difference between Excel shortcuts on Windows and Mac?
Mostly Ctrl becomes ⌘, with some keys that differ completely, and no Alt-key ribbon sequences on Mac.
How many Excel shortcuts are there?
Hundreds, and nobody uses them all. Twenty-five covers most daily work, and fifty covers nearly everything most people will ever need.
Is there an Excel shortcuts PDF for Mac specifically?
Yes. The Mac column in the table above is the Mac list, and the Mac Excel shortcut cheat sheet linked earlier has a longer one.