Essential Keyboard Shortcuts in MS Excel

Summary: Mastering essential Excel keyboard shortcuts enhances productivity and efficiency by streamlining tasks and reducing errors. This guide covers basic shortcuts, their benefits, and tips for using them effectively.

Introduction

Mastering Excel skills will give you a competitive edge. It is one of the most recognised and used applications globally. Expertise in MS Excel can help you increase your productivity and save time. Excel also plays a significant role in data science and light technologies. 

Excel offers many features and functions that can be time-consuming, but with the proper knowledge of shortcut keys, you can save time. This blog will unfold the basic keyboard shortcuts in MS Excel.

Read Blog: Master VBA in Excel: Essential Tips and Tricks for Beginners.

What is Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet program that Microsoft developed. It is an essential tool for data organisation, analysis, and visualisation. With its robust features, Excel allows users to create and manage spreadsheets, making it indispensable in various fields such as finance, data analysis, and project management.

Excel’s computational capabilities are one of its standout features. Users can perform complex calculations and data manipulations using formulas and functions. Excel can handle various numerical data efficiently, from simple arithmetic to advanced statistical analysis. This makes it a valuable resource for professionals who must process large datasets.

In addition to its computational strengths, Excel offers a variety of graphic tools for data visualisation. Users can create charts, graphs, and tables to represent data, making identifying trends and patterns easier visually. Pivot tables are another powerful feature in Excel, allowing users to quickly summarise and analyse large amounts of data.

Microsoft Excel is more than just a spreadsheet program; it is a comprehensive data analysis, management, and visualisation tool. Its versatility and user-friendly interface make it a popular choice for individuals and businesses.

Check: Understanding Data Science and Data Analysis Life Cycle.

Useful Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

Knowing useful Excel keyboard shortcuts can greatly enhance productivity and efficiency. These shortcuts save time by reducing the need for mouse navigation, streamline data manipulation, and make it easier to perform complex tasks quickly. Mastering them can significantly improve your workflow and overall Excel proficiency.

Read Blog: How to Become a Certified Microsoft Excel Expert?

How do you insert a tick mark in the Excel shortcut key?

Begin with placing a cursor where you want to add the tick symbol.

For this, you should open the Symbol dialogue box:

Excel: Insert > Symbols

What Are The Benefits of Using Shortcut Excel Keys?

Knowing the benefits of using shortcut Excel keys can significantly enhance your productivity. Mastering these shortcuts can streamline workflows, making your work more efficient and error-free. Some of the key benefits if using shortcut keys in Excel are listed below:

• Saves time: One of the primary benefits of using the Excel shortcut key is that it helps in improving work efficiency.  You don’t need to hit the mouse pad or seek assistance to perform a particular task on Excel. Instead, knowing the shortcut will ease your task.
• Reduces errors: Keyboard shortcuts minimise the error probability and ensure you perform your task accurately.
• Improves workflow: Keyboard shortcuts can help you move between different parts of Excel more quickly and easily, improving your overall workflow and making the program easier to navigate.
• Increases productivity: The primary objective of switching to a keyboard shortcut key is enhancing your work productivity.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, these shortcuts can help you navigate the program more quickly and easily. Learning and practising them can save a lot of time and reduce the risk of errors in your work. 

Most in-demand technologies, such as data science, blockchain, big data, and artificial intelligence, have some role in Excel. Hence, mastering the shortcut keys can help you simplify your tasks and reduce errors, enhancing your performance.

Read Blog: Use of Excel in Data Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of using keyboard shortcuts in Excel?

Keyboard shortcuts in Excel save time by allowing you to perform tasks quickly without relying on mouse clicks. They reduce the likelihood of errors, enhance workflow efficiency, and boost productivity by simplifying navigation and data manipulation. Mastering these shortcuts can significantly improve your overall Excel experience.

How can I access the Format Cells dialogue box using a keyboard shortcut in Excel?

To open the Format Cells dialog box in Excel, press Ctrl + 1. This shortcut includes a menu to adjust cell formatting options, such as number formats, font styles, and border settings. It’s a quick way to format cells without navigating through multiple menus.

How do I create a new workbook using a keyboard shortcut in Excel?

To create a new workbook in Excel, use the shortcut Ctrl + N. This command instantly opens a new, blank workbook, allowing you to begin a new project or enter data without going through the File menu. It streamlines your workflow for quick starts.

Further Read: 

Master Excel’s HLOOKUP: The Ultimate Guide to Finding Data Faster.

How to Use Count In Excel: A Guide to The COUNT Function.

Wrapping it up!!!

A brief overview of the shortcut keys in MS Excel will help you easily perform some basic tasks. Pickl.AI, we have focused on creating a curriculum that equips you with all such basic skill sets and mastering the advanced data science skills to help you grow professionally.  

If you are also willing to start your learning journey, join the Pickl.AI course today.