Excel is used by more than 750 million people around the world and only 5% really know how to use its full suite of tools.
In this post I will show you the top 10 Excel productivity tips that you need to know in order to complete your tasks much quicker within Excel, so you can go home a tad bit earlier.
Table of Contents
TIPS & TRICKS
1. Excel Sheet Navigator
If you have lots of worksheets in your workbook and you quickly want to navigate to the last worksheets, all you need to do is Right Click in the bottom left hand corner of your workbook where the sheet arrows are located and this will bring up a list of all your worksheets.
2. Status Bar Metrics
When you select a range of cells you can quickly see key metrics like the Sum, Count, Minimum, Maxi mun and Average.
To activate this you will need to Right Click on the Status Bar at the bottom of your workbook and choose the metrics that you want to show. Once selected, these option remain saved for all future workbooks.
3. Format Painter Multiple Cells
The Format Painter copies formatting from one place and applies it to another but this can also be extended to multiple cells.
To activate this hidden gem you need to double click on the Format Painter and then go crazy with the paint brush!
4. Fill Down Formulas
If you have a formula that you want to copy down your table quickly, you can do it the slow way by dragging down the bottom right hand corner of the cell, or the quick way, which is to double click the bottom right hand corner of the cell.
As long as there is data to the left hand side of the formula you want to copy downwards, this trick will work.
5. Unhide Rows & Columns
A quick way to “unhide” multiple Rows or Columns within an Excel sheet is to select all the cells and then double click between any Rows or Columns and BAM!
You have all the Rows and Columns visible once again.
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
(Note that the + sign should be interpreted as “and”, so you need to hold the CTRL button and then hit the next command)
1. CTRL + F1
Hide/Unhide the Ribbon
If you want to have more space in your workbook you can hide the Ribbon menu by pressing CTRL + F1.
Another way is to click on the ^ icon which is located on the far right hand side of the Ribbon menu.
2. CTRL + SHIFT + ARROWS
Move/Highlight Cells
If you want to quickly move to the last cell of your table/data you can press CTRL + ??
If you want to quickly highlight up to the last cell of your table/data you can press CTRL + SHIFT + ??
3. CTRL + -+
Insert or Delete Rows and Columns in Excel
One of my favourite Excel keyboard shortcut and one that I use hundreds of times per week is the insert or delete rows and columns.
All you have to do is select the whole row or column with your mouse and then press the following:
CTRL + – to delete or CTRL + + to insert
4. CTRL + D/R
Copy Down/Right
A quick way to copy whatever is directly above or to the left of you is to press CTRL + D to copy DOWN or CTRL + R to copy RIGHT.
5. CTRL + ENTER
Fill Down
If you want to make a change to a cell and reflect that change to a selection of cells, then pressing CTRL + ENTER will fill down or copy your action to the selected cells.
I hope you enjoyed these Excel tips and the best way to memorize them is to apply them to your work on a daily basis.
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Feel free to contact me if you have any queries or need any Excel help at [email protected]
John Michaloudis is a former accountant and finance analyst at General Electric, a Microsoft MVP since 2020, an Amazon #1 bestselling author of 4 Microsoft Excel books and teacher of Microsoft Excel & Office over at his flagship Academy Online Course.
