Resources · Keyboard Shortcuts

Excel keyboard shortcuts, including the locale differences.

Most Excel shortcuts are universal, but some — in particular the letter-based Ctrl+X family on German keyboards — are localized and trip up users moving between regions. This page lists the critical bindings, with the German alternatives where they differ.

Universal shortcuts (function keys)

F-keys behave the same on every Excel locale.

Shortcut	Action
`F2`	Edit the active cell, cursor at the end.
`F4`	Cycle through absolute / mixed / relative reference styles.
`F5`	Go To dialog — jump to a cell or named range.
`F9`	Calculate now (forces re-evaluation).
`Shift`+`F9`	Calculate the active sheet only.
`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`F9`	Full rebuild: forces every cell to recalculate, even unchanged ones.
`F12`	Save As dialog.
`Alt`+`=`	Insert `SUM` for the contiguous range above or to the left.
`Ctrl`+`;`	Insert today's date as a static value.
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`:`	Insert the current time as a static value.

Universal shortcuts (Ctrl combinations)

These work on the English, German, French and Spanish builds of Excel — but the German variants of format and find/replace change letter, see the next section.

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl`+`C` / `X` / `V`	Copy / cut / paste.
`Ctrl`+`Z` / `Y`	Undo / redo.
`Ctrl`+`S`	Save.
`Ctrl`+`P`	Print.
`Ctrl`+`A`	Select current region; press again for whole sheet.
`Ctrl`+`Home`	Jump to A1.
`Ctrl`+`End`	Jump to the last used cell.
`Ctrl`+`Arrow`	Jump to edge of current data region.
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Arrow`	Extend selection to edge of region.
`Ctrl`+`Page Up` / `Page Down`	Switch to previous / next worksheet.
`Ctrl`+`T`	Convert selection to a structured table.
`Ctrl`+`L`	Same as Ctrl+T (legacy binding).
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`L`	Toggle AutoFilter on the selection.
`Ctrl`+`F1`	Toggle the ribbon.
`Ctrl`+`F3`	Open the Name Manager.
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Enter`	Commit a legacy array formula. Modern dynamic arrays do not require this.

Shortcuts that differ on German Excel

The biggest source of confusion when using a German Excel installation: several letter-based shortcuts follow the German command name rather than the English one.

Action	English Excel	German Excel
Bold	`Ctrl`+`B`	`Strg`+`F` (Fett)
Italic	`Ctrl`+`I`	`Strg`+`K` (Kursiv)
Underline	`Ctrl`+`U`	`Strg`+`U`
Find	`Ctrl`+`F`	`Strg`+`F` (same letter, different command)
Replace	`Ctrl`+`H`	`Strg`+`H`
Fill down	`Ctrl`+`D`	`Strg`+`U` (nach Unten ausfüllen)
Fill right	`Ctrl`+`R`	`Strg`+`R`
New workbook	`Ctrl`+`N`	`Strg`+`N`
Open file	`Ctrl`+`O`	`Strg`+`O`
Format Cells dialog	`Ctrl`+`1`	`Strg`+`1`
Insert hyperlink	`Ctrl`+`K`	(use ribbon — `Strg`+`K` is taken by Italic)

On French and Spanish Excel the bold/italic bindings follow the English convention (Ctrl+G for bold in French — Gras — is the one notable exception).

Selection and navigation

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl`+`Space`	Select entire column.
`Shift`+`Space`	Select entire row.
`Ctrl`+`+`	Insert cells / rows / columns dialog.
`Ctrl`+`-`	Delete cells / rows / columns dialog.
`Alt`+`;`	Select only visible cells (after a filter).
`Ctrl`+`9` / `0`	Hide row / column.
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`9` / `0`	Unhide row / column.

Power-user paste-special

Even modern Excel preserves the legacy menu shortcut Alt+E, S for Paste Special — useful because the keystrokes complete in muscle memory before the dialog renders.

Sequence	Result
`Alt`+`E`, `S`, `V`	Paste Values only.
`Alt`+`E`, `S`, `T`	Paste Formats only.
`Alt`+`E`, `S`, `F`	Paste Formulas only.
`Alt`+`E`, `S`, `E`	Transpose option (toggle in the dialog).
`Alt`+`E`, `S`, `D`	Add — pastes values added to the existing target cells.

On a German Excel build the menu mnemonics differ: Alt+B, I opens the same Paste Special dialog (Bearbeiten → Inhalte einfügen).