The Power of the Keyboard Shortcuts

If you wanted to quickly insert a row, how would you go about doing that? If you are like most Excel users, you will use your mouse to click on the row, right click, and then select "Insert Row". What if you wanted to quickly select all items in a column with 203,453 rows? Would you use your mouse to select and scroll allllllllllll the way down?

STOP THE MADNESS!! Never (at least rarely) use your mouse again! This will not only save you precious time but will also amaze your co-workers as they watch you seamlessly navigate your spreadsheet. Using keyboard short cuts will make you look like a competitive ballroom dancer as you glide through Excel. You will make your mouse-using co-workers look like a 16 year old boy at prom.

Here is a great list that summarizes some of the most useful shortcuts. At a minimum, you should learn the following:

• Select entire row = Shift + Spacebar
• Select entire column = CTRL + Spacebar
• Add row (after selection = CTRL + ALT + "+"
• Delete row (after selection) = CTRL + "-"
• Scroll to bottom of list = CTRL + Down Arrow
• Select all items in a list = CTRL + Shift + Down Arrow 

Once you learn those, try embarking on new and exciting keyboard shortcut adventures. For those who are looking for an African Safari, try learning to navigate the Ribbon using the Alt key (stay tuned for a post on this later).

Using keyboard shortcuts will take some time to learn. At first it will seem like it is taking longer than using the trusted mouse, but once you learn them, you will be shocked by how much time they save. Stay strong!