Excel Workbook For Dummies
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As an integral part of the ribbon interface used by all the major apps in Microsoft Office, Excel gives you access to hot key sequences that, for all of you keyboard enthusiasts, can greatly speed up the process of selecting program commands. To save time when accessing commands, look up its hot key sequence in these Cheat Sheet tables.

Perform Excel File menu commands with handy hot keys

You activate the Excel hot keys by pressing the Alt key before you type the various sequences of mnemonic letters. The mnemonic letter for all the commands on the Excel File menu in the Backstage View is F (for File). Therefore, all you have to concentrate on learning in the following table is the second letter in the File menu hot key sequence.

Unfortunately, not all these second letters are as easy to associate and remember as Alt+F. For example, check out the Account option hot key sequence — Alt+FD — where the second mnemonic letter (D) doesn’t occur anywhere in the option name!

Hot Keys Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+FH File→Home Displays the Home panel, where you can choose a template, or open a recent or pinned workbook
Alt+FN File→New Displays the Available Templates panel in the Backstage View box where you can open a blank workbook or one from a template
Alt+FO File→Open Displays the Open dialog box in the regular worksheet view where you can select a new Excel workbook to open for editing or printing
Alt+FI File→Info Displays the Information panel in the Backstage View where you can see a preview of the current worksheet along with statistics about the workbook as well as protect the workbook, check the file for compatibility issues, and manage different versions created by the AutoRecover feature
Alt+FS File→Save Saves changes to a workbook. When you first select this command for a new workbook, Excel displays the Save As dialog box
Alt+FA File→Save As Displays the Save As dialog box in the regular worksheet view where you can modify the filename, location where the file is saved, and format that the file is saved in
Alt+FA File→Save a Copy For a OneDrive file, displays the Save a Copy screen in the Backstage view where you choose the OneDrive folder to save a copy of the file, the filename, and the format in which the file is to be saved
Alt+FP File→Print Displays the Print panel in the Backstage View where you can change the print settings before sending the current worksheet, workbook, or cell selection to the printer
Alt+FH File→Share Displays the Share panel in the Backstage View where you can send the current workbook as an e-mail attachment or fax it using Internet Fax, attach it to an e-mail as a PDF file, save it in a new file format, or save it online to your company’s SharePoint site or your own Windows Live SkyDrive
Alt+FE File→Export Displays the Export screen in the Backstage view where you can change the workbook file type or convert it to an Adobe PDF or Microsoft XPS document
Alt+FU File→Publish Enables you to upload all or part of your workbook to Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence), a standalone program that enables you to create rich visual reports and dashboards for your Excel data
Alt+FC File→Close Closes the current workbook without exiting Excel
Alt+FD File→Account Displays the Account screen in the Backstage view where you can modify your user information, select a new background and theme for all Office programs, add connected storage services, and get the product ID and other information on your version of Office
Alt+FK File→Feedback Displays the Feedback screen in the Backstage view where you can send Microsoft your comments about Excel features you like and dislike as well as make suggestions for new features and other improvements
Alt+FI File→Options Displays the Excel Options dialog box in the regular worksheet view where you can change default program settings, modify the buttons on the Quick Access toolbar, and customize the Excel Ribbon
Alt+FX File→Exit Excel Quits the Excel program and closes all open workbooks after prompting you to save them

Common Excel hot keys to perform formula commands

All the hot key sequences for selecting the most common formula-related commands in Excel begin with the sequence Alt+M because the M in forMulas was the only mnemonic key still available (F was already assigned to the File menu commands).

Hot Keys Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+MF Formulas→Insert Function Opens the Insert Function dialog box (same as clicking the Insert Function button on the Formula bar
Alt+MUS Formulas→AutoSum→Sum Selects the occupied range above the cell cursor and inserts SUM formula to total the range
Alt+MUA Formulas→AutoSum→Average Selects the occupied range above the cell cursor and inserts AVERAGE formula to calculate the average of total in the range
Alt+MUC Formulas→AutoSum→Count Numbers Selects the occupied range above the cell cursor and inserts COUNT formula to count the number of values in the range
Alt+MI Formulas→Financial Opens a drop-down menu listing all Financial functions — click name to insert function into current cell
Alt+ME Formulas→Date & Time Opens a drop-down menu listing all Date and Time functions — click name to insert function into current cell
Alt+MN Formulas→Name Manager Opens Name Manager dialog box showing all range names in workbook where you can add, edit, and delete names
Alt+MMD Formulas→Define Name Opens New Name dialog box where you can assign a name to the cell selection or define a new constant
Alt+MS Formulas→Use in Formula Displays drop-down menu with range names in workbook that you can insert into current formula by clicking
Alt+MC Formulas→Create from Selection Opens Create Names from Selection dialog box where you indicate which rows and columns to use in naming cell selection
Alt+MH Formulas→Show Formulas Displays and then hides all formulas in cells of the worksheet
Alt+MXA Formulas→Options→Automatic Turns automatic recalculation back on
Alt+MXE Formulas→Options→Automatic Except for Data Tables Turns automatic recalculation back on for all parts of the worksheet except for ranges with Data Tables
Alt+MXM Formulas→Options→Manual Turns on manual recalculation
Alt+MB Formulas→Calculate Now Recalculates formulas throughout the entire workbook when manual recalculation is turned on
Alt+MJ Formulas→Calculate Sheet Recalculates formulas in the current worksheet when manual recalculation is turned on

Excel view commands via hot keys

The mnemonic letter for all the view-related commands in Excel is W (the last letter you see in vieW).

Hot Keys Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+WL View→Normal Returns the worksheet to normal view from Page Layout or Page Break Preview
Alt+WP View→Page Layout Puts the worksheet into Page Layout View showing the page
breaks, margins, and rulers
Alt+WI View→Page Break Preview Puts the worksheet into Page Break Preview showing page breaks that you can adjust
Alt+WE View→Full Screen Puts the worksheet in full-screen mode which hides the File Menu, Quick Access toolbar, and Ribbon — press the Esc key to restore previous viewing mode
Alt+WVG View→Gridlines Hides and redisplays the row and column gridlines that form the cells in the Worksheet area
Alt+WG View→Zoom to Selection Zooms the Worksheet area in or out to the magnification
percentage needed to display just the cell selection
Alt+WJ View→100% Returns the Worksheet area to the default 100% magnification percentage
Alt+WN View→New Window Inserts a new window in the current workbook
Alt+WA View→Arrange All Opens the Arrange dialog box where you can select how workbook windows are displayed on the screen
Alt+WF View→Freeze Panes Opens the Freeze Panes drop-down menu where you select how to freeze rows and columns in the Worksheet area: Freeze Panes (to freeze all the rows above and columns to the left of the cell cursor); Freeze Top Row; or Freeze First Column
Alt+WS View→Split Splits the worksheet into four panes using the top and left
edge of the cell cursor as the vertical and horizontal dividing
lines — press hot keys again to remove all panes
Alt+WH View→Hide Hides the current worksheet window or workbook
Alt+WU View→Unhide Opens the Unhide dialog box where you can select the window or workbook to redisplay
Alt+WB View→View Side by Side Tiles two open windows or workbooks one above the other form comparison — press hot keys again to restore the original full windows
Alt+WW View→Switch Windows Opens the Switch Windows drop-down menu where you can select the open window or workbook to make active

Excel hot keys for editing commands

The mnemonic letter for all the editing commands is H (for Home) because all of these commands are conveniently located on the Home tab of the Ribbon.

However, even if you can remember to associate editing with the Home tab and keep in mind that Alt+H is always the starting point, you’re still not home free because the remaining letters in the hot key sequences are not as easy to remember as you might like.

Fortunately, the most common editing commands (Cut, Copy, and Paste) still respond to the old Ctrl+key sequences (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V, respectively), which are a lot quicker than their Alt+H equivalents, provided that you already know and regularly use them.

Hot Keys Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+HVP Home→Paste→Paste Pastes the currently cut or copied cell selection or graphic objects in the worksheet
Alt+HX Home→Cut Cuts the cell selection or selected graphic objects out of the workbook and places them on the Windows Clipboard
Alt+HC Home→Copy Copies the cell selection or selected graphic objects to the Windows Clipboard
Alt+HFP Home→Format Painter Activates the Format Painter
Alt+HFO Home→Clipboard Dialog Box Launcher Displays and hides the Clipboard task pane
Alt+HII Home→Insert→Insert Cells Opens Insert dialog box so you can indicate the direction in which to shift existing cells to make room for the ones being inserted
Alt+HIR Home→Insert→Insert Sheet Rows Inserts blank rows equal to the number of rows in the cell selection
Alt+HIC Home→Insert→Insert Sheet Columns Inserts blank columns equal to the number of columns in the cell selection
Alt+HIS Home→Insert→Insert Sheet Inserts a new worksheet in the workbook
Alt+HDD Home→Delete→Delete Cells Opens Delete dialog box so you can indicate the direction in which to shift existing cells to replace the ones being deleted
Alt+HDR Home→Delete→Sheet Rows Deletes rows equal to the number of rows in the cell selection
Alt+HDC Home→Delete→Sheet Columns Deletes columns equal to the number of columns in the cell selection
Alt+HDS Home→Delete→Sheet Deletes the current worksheet after warning you of data loss if the sheet contains cell entries
Alt+HEA Home→Clear→Clear All Clears the contents, formatting, and comments from the cell selection
Alt+HEF Home→Clear→Clear Formats Clears the formatting of the cell selection without removing the contents and comments
Alt+HEC Home→Clear→Clear Contents Clears the contents of the cell selection without removing the formatting and comments
Alt+HEM Home→Clear→Clear Comments Clears all comments in the cell selection without removing the formatting and contents

 

About This Article

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About the book authors:

Paul McFedries is a technical writer who has been authoring computer books since 1991 and has over 100 books to his credit. These books include Alexa For Dummies, Amazon Fire TV For Dummies, and Cord Cutting For Dummies. You can visit Paul on the web at www.mcfedries.com.

Greg Harvey has authored tons of computer books, the most recent being Excel 2007 For Dummies, Windows Vista For Dummies Quick Reference, and Excel Workbook For Dummies. He started out training business users on how to use IBM personal computers and their attendant computer software in the rough-and-tumble days of DOS, WordStar, and Lotus 1-2-3 in the mid-80s of the last century. After working for a number of independent training firms, he went on to teaching semester-long courses in spreadsheet and database management software at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
His love of teaching has translated into an equal love of writing. For Dummies books are, of course, his all-time favorites to write because they enable him to write to his favorite audience, the beginner. They also enable him to use humor (a key element to success in the training room) and, most delightful of all, to express an opinion or two about the subject matter at hand.

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