10 Excel shortcuts that will save you hours: 🕝
1. ALT H O I
Have you ever opened a workbook and not been able to see the data? Instead of manually adjusting the column widths in the header, use ALT H O I. ALT H O I automatically adjusts the selected cells’ column widths to equal the size of their contents.
2. CTRL E
CTRL E makes complicated tasks easier than ever, thanks to Flash Fill. Flash Fill automatically fills data down a column based on detected patterns. Just enter how you want the data to appear, hit CTRL E, and Excel will fill the pattern down the column in a flash.
3. ALT F1
If you spend too much time creating charts to visualize data, meet ALT F1. These two magical keys automatically generate a bar chart using the selected data and insert it right into the active worksheet!
4. CTRL ENTER
Dragging formulas down columns and then again across rows can be a drag. Say goodbye to the fill handle and hello to CTRL ENTER! CTRL ENTER fills the active cell’s contents into selected cells. Note: The active cell has to be in editing mode for this to work.
5. CTRL `
When cranking out formulas in Excel, checking each one individually in the formula bar can be tedious. Instead, try the CTRL ` shortcut! CTRL ` toggles between displaying the cells’ formulas and values in the active worksheet.
6. ALT ↓
If you are entering repetitive data in Excel, ALT ↓ is a must-know shortcut. The ALT ↓ shortcut displays a dropdown list of all values previously entered in the column. Now, you can simply select any value, which will automatically be entered into the active cell!
7. CTRL [
Tracing down cell references can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead of tracing the file path, opening the file, navigating to the worksheet and mapping the cell, just press CTRL [ to teleport to a cell reference. So much faster.
8. ALT W FF
Nothing’s worse than not being able to see headers when scrolling through a worksheet. To prevent this, select the first cell containing data in the table and press ALT W FF to freeze the panes. Now, the headers remain visible when scrolling throughout the worksheet.
9. CTRL SHIFT L
Last but not least, CTRL SHIFT L. CTRL SHIFT L makes analyzing large data sets a little easier by adding the Sort &Filter toggles to the top row of the data set, so you can quickly sort and filter data.
7. CTRL T
Start getting into the routine of using Tables with CTRL T. CTRL T converts data to an Excel Table. Tables are a powerful tool that clean up formatting, auto-fill formulas down columns, automatically expand and update linked charts when new rows are added, and more!
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