The Almighty Alt Key

Now that you have mastered the keyboard shortcuts of last week, let's learn how to literally never use your mouse again. Are you ready for this?

Learning the Alt key shortcuts is relatively simple when compared to the shortcuts we outlined last week. The tough part is the growing pains associated with parting with your mouse. Why is it so easy to learn? Because Excel shows you step by step what keys to press. Let's demonstrate.

Let's say we wanted to change the font size or our cell to 14 from 11.

To get started, press the Alt key on your keyboard. You will notice that numbers and letters will appear on your Ribbon (I told you Excel would tell you what to do).

Next, press the "H" key. This will take you to the Home tab. You could have also pressed the "N" or any of the other letters on the Ribbon to take your to the other tabs. Your ribbon should now look like this:

Note that every item on the Ribbon has a letter or number associated with it. To change the font size, just type "FS", type the number 14, and press Enter. That's it!

You may be thinking, "This takes much longer than using my mouse!" However, once you get accustomed to the Alt key and have your favorite functions down, this will save valuable time. In addition, your hands never need to leave the keyboard again! Be adventurous this week and start learning some of your favorite Ribbon functions. Stay tuned for next week's time saving (or awesome) Excel tip!