Excel Crash Course
move back and forth between the worksheets in a workbook *Ctrl PageUp* or *Ctrl
PageDown*
open a file *alt f o*
*ctrl o*
save a file *alt f s*
*ctrl s*
print a file *alt f p*
*ctrl p*
navigating to the toolbars without the mouse hit *Alt and the appropriate letter* (or use the
right/left arrow keys) to get to the desired tab
once there, use the Tab and Shift Tab keys to navigate around
accessing settings File > Options (*Alt f t*)
*Alt t o*
Disabling the Start Screen and adding more worksheets on startup click on 'Blank worksheet'
Hit *Alt f t* go go to Excel options (you can also get there by clicking the file tab)
Under 'General' unselect "Show the Start screen when this application starts"
password protecting files File
Info
password protect files: "Encrypt with Password"
password protect individual worksheet (so that people can't see or edit formulas): "Protect
Current Sheet"
highlighting columns and rows columns: *Ctrl Spacebar*
rows: *Shift Spacebar*
widening columns and rows highlight column by pressing *Ctrl Spacebar*
*Alt h o i* to auto-fit the column width
-if you want a column to have a certain width, press *Alt h o w* and enter the desired width
highlight row by pressing Shift Spacebar
*Alt h o a* to auto-fit the row height
-if you want a row to have a certain height, press *Alt h o h* and enter the desired height
format cells *Ctrl 1* pulls up the 'Format Cells' menu
navigating the 'Format Cells' menu after hitting Ctrl 1 to pull up the 'Format Cells' menu, you
can navigate around tabs by hitting *Ctrl tab*
, each category within a tab can be accessed by pressing *Alt* and the appropriate underlined
letter, or by hitting *tab* to move clockwise and *shift tab* to move counter clockwise
when on the desired tab, horizontal alignment can be accessed through *Alt h* and vertical
alignment through *Alt v*
paste special *Alt v s t* or *Alt e s t*
changing zoom size *Alt w q* or *Alt v z*
Move/copy a tab *Alt h o m*
freezing panes click the cell BELOW the desired row and to the RIGHT of the desired column
where you want to freeze panes and hit *Alt w f f*
to unfreeze panes: press *Alt w f f* again
splitting panes splitting panes allows users to scroll in both areas of the worksheet, while rows
and columns in the non-scrolled area remain visible
to split panes:
-click the cell BELOW the desired row and to the RIGHT of the desired column where you want
to split panes and hit *Alt w s*
-to unspilt panes, click *Alt w s* again
-press *F6* to move from pane to pane in a clockwise direction; press *Shift F6* to move from
pane to pane in a counter-clockwise direction
manipulating data inside a cell *F2* is the command that puts you inside a cell:
-pressing the F2 key once shows you the components of the formula you created earlier, puts you
inside a cell and enables you to navigate through it to edit the existing cell data
-pressing the F2 key twice activates the cursor and enables you to move to different cells,
worksheets, and even other open Excel files
*Shift arrow key* will highlight characters one at a time
*Shift Ctrl arrow key* will highlight contiguous ranges of characters
deleting and clearing cell datahitting *Delete* does NOT delete the formatting in the cell
to truly delete a cell:
-*Alt h e* (Home tab > Clear)
-from the drop-down, chose the appropriate actions
*(Alt h e) a*: clears ALL contents of the cell
*(Alt h e) f*: clears only the cell FORMAT
*(Alt h e) c*: clears only the cell CONTENT
-this is the same as hitting Delete
*(Alt h e) m*: clears only the cell COMMENTS
right and down fills highlight the range
*Ctrl R* tells Excel to look at the LEFTMOST column of a range of highlighted cells and copy
and paste the inputs and formulas in that column to all the columns to the right
move back and forth between the worksheets in a workbook *Ctrl PageUp* or *Ctrl
PageDown*
open a file *alt f o*
*ctrl o*
save a file *alt f s*
*ctrl s*
print a file *alt f p*
*ctrl p*
navigating to the toolbars without the mouse hit *Alt and the appropriate letter* (or use the
right/left arrow keys) to get to the desired tab
once there, use the Tab and Shift Tab keys to navigate around
accessing settings File > Options (*Alt f t*)
*Alt t o*
Disabling the Start Screen and adding more worksheets on startup click on 'Blank worksheet'
Hit *Alt f t* go go to Excel options (you can also get there by clicking the file tab)
Under 'General' unselect "Show the Start screen when this application starts"
password protecting files File
Info
password protect files: "Encrypt with Password"
password protect individual worksheet (so that people can't see or edit formulas): "Protect
Current Sheet"
highlighting columns and rows columns: *Ctrl Spacebar*
rows: *Shift Spacebar*
widening columns and rows highlight column by pressing *Ctrl Spacebar*
*Alt h o i* to auto-fit the column width
-if you want a column to have a certain width, press *Alt h o w* and enter the desired width
highlight row by pressing Shift Spacebar
*Alt h o a* to auto-fit the row height
-if you want a row to have a certain height, press *Alt h o h* and enter the desired height
format cells *Ctrl 1* pulls up the 'Format Cells' menu
navigating the 'Format Cells' menu after hitting Ctrl 1 to pull up the 'Format Cells' menu, you
can navigate around tabs by hitting *Ctrl tab*
, each category within a tab can be accessed by pressing *Alt* and the appropriate underlined
letter, or by hitting *tab* to move clockwise and *shift tab* to move counter clockwise
when on the desired tab, horizontal alignment can be accessed through *Alt h* and vertical
alignment through *Alt v*
paste special *Alt v s t* or *Alt e s t*
changing zoom size *Alt w q* or *Alt v z*
Move/copy a tab *Alt h o m*
freezing panes click the cell BELOW the desired row and to the RIGHT of the desired column
where you want to freeze panes and hit *Alt w f f*
to unfreeze panes: press *Alt w f f* again
splitting panes splitting panes allows users to scroll in both areas of the worksheet, while rows
and columns in the non-scrolled area remain visible
to split panes:
-click the cell BELOW the desired row and to the RIGHT of the desired column where you want
to split panes and hit *Alt w s*
-to unspilt panes, click *Alt w s* again
-press *F6* to move from pane to pane in a clockwise direction; press *Shift F6* to move from
pane to pane in a counter-clockwise direction
manipulating data inside a cell *F2* is the command that puts you inside a cell:
-pressing the F2 key once shows you the components of the formula you created earlier, puts you
inside a cell and enables you to navigate through it to edit the existing cell data
-pressing the F2 key twice activates the cursor and enables you to move to different cells,
worksheets, and even other open Excel files
*Shift arrow key* will highlight characters one at a time
*Shift Ctrl arrow key* will highlight contiguous ranges of characters
deleting and clearing cell datahitting *Delete* does NOT delete the formatting in the cell
to truly delete a cell:
-*Alt h e* (Home tab > Clear)
-from the drop-down, chose the appropriate actions
*(Alt h e) a*: clears ALL contents of the cell
*(Alt h e) f*: clears only the cell FORMAT
*(Alt h e) c*: clears only the cell CONTENT
-this is the same as hitting Delete
*(Alt h e) m*: clears only the cell COMMENTS
right and down fills highlight the range
*Ctrl R* tells Excel to look at the LEFTMOST column of a range of highlighted cells and copy
and paste the inputs and formulas in that column to all the columns to the right
