📊 Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Press Ctrl+Space (Windows) or Ctrl+Space (Mac) to select the entire column of the active cell. To select an entire row, use Shift+Space. To select multiple columns, first select cells spanning several columns before using the shortcut.

Press Alt+= (Windows) or ⌘+Shift+T (Mac) to insert a SUM formula automatically. Excel detects the adjacent range of numbers above or to the left and sums them. Press Enter to confirm.

Press Ctrl+` (the grave accent key, usually top-left on a US keyboard, below Esc) to show all formulas in the sheet instead of their calculated results. Press it again to return to normal view. This is the same shortcut on both Windows and Mac.

While editing a formula, click inside a cell reference and press F4 (Windows) or ⌘+T (Mac) to cycle through reference types: A1 → $A$1 → A$1 → $A1 → back to A1. This lets you lock rows, columns, or both independently.

There is no single-keystroke shortcut. On Windows, use the ribbon key sequence: press Alt, then W, then F, then F to freeze at the selected cell. On Mac, go to View → Freeze Panes from the menu bar. Select the cell below and to the right of where you want the freeze before running the command.

Select an entire row with Shift+Space (or a column with Ctrl+Space), then press Ctrl+Shift++ to insert. The new row inserts above and the new column inserts to the left of your selection. To insert multiple rows or columns, first select that many rows or columns before using the shortcut.

Press F4 (Windows) or ⌘+Y (Mac) immediately after an action to repeat it on the next selected cell or range. This works for formatting, inserting rows, applying borders, and most other repeatable actions — except typing text.

Press Alt (Windows) to activate Key Tips — small letter overlays appear on every ribbon button showing which key to press next. Chain the letters to reach any command without touching the mouse. For example, Alt → H → O → I auto-fits column width.