Full mastery of Microsoft Office requires the use of shortcuts, and we'll show you how to find all the keyboard shortcuts you'll ever need. If you've exhausted that list and still find some functionality that doesn't have a corresponding keyboard shortcut, you may be wondering if you're out of luck.
The good news is that you're not out of luck! Excel supports custom shortcuts, and we'll show you how to create your own today. Get ready to take your shortcut to the next level!
Unfortunately, it's not all good news in the realm of custom shortcuts. While Microsoft Word allows you to customize your own keyboard shortcuts Set Up Custom Shortcut Keys In MS Word And Make A Cheat Sheet Set Up Custom Shortcut Keys In MS Word And Make A Cheat Sheet Read More functionality to override standard shortcuts. There are three main types of keyboard shortcuts:
So while you can't manipulate any of the default shortcuts, you can still access quite a bit of functionality on the ribbon and use macros; therefore, we will use those options to make custom shortcuts. Even though they are not custom, you should take some time to review the best Excel daily shortcuts 35 Everyday Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and Mac 35 Everyday Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and Mac The keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time! Use these Microsoft Excel shortcuts to speed up work with spreadsheets on Windows and Mac. Read more, too.
The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) is a handy strip of commands that always stays at the top of the screen. By default, it only includes a few commands like save, undo, and redo (which can be removed because they already have accessible shortcuts), but you can add many more commands to the QAT. How To Customize The Quick Access Toolbar In MS Office 2010 How To Customize The Quick Access Toolbar In MS Office 2010 The Quick Access Toolbar has been a part of MS Office since the 2003 version, but has come to the forefront. forefront since the introduction of MS Office 2007 and most prominently with MS Office... Read More .
The best part? Remember that Alt codes allow you to access anything on the ribbon How to Modify the Windows and Office Ribbon Menu How to Modify the Windows and Office Ribbon Menu That annoying ribbon menu. Since its introduction in Office 2007, I have been struggling to come to terms with it. I much preferred the Office 2000/2003 method of “hiding” Tools you don't use often... Read More If you press ALT , you should notice that popup keys also appear near the QAT, giving you a one-step shortcut to any Excel command you want!
To configure the bar to your liking 9 Simple Tweaks to Customize Excel to Your Needs 9 Simple Tweaks to Customize Excel to Your Needs Excel is a powerful tool, but it gets even better when you can customize it to your needs. Some of your best options are hidden inside and we've pulled back the curtain. For more information, click the dropdown arrow to the far right of the current icons and choose More commands... to open the customization window. Here, you will see a list of available commands in the box on the left and your current QAT commands on the right.
If you want, you can click any command on the right and click remove to launch it, or use the arrow buttons to the right of the box to reorder the current items. Once you've sorted that, check the box to the left to find the commands you want to add.
By default, the dropdown box above will only show the Popular Commands , but you can change it to Commands not on the ribbon if you want to avoid duplicating what is already on the ribbon. You can also show All commands , but note that there is quite a list.
Take a look at the list and select the features you want instant access to. The QAT allows for many commands, so don't be afraid to pick a few of your favorites or even find some new features. 8 Things You Can Do In The Office You Never Thought About 8 Things You Can Do In The Office You Never Thought About Microsoft Office flips the Pareto principle on its head:80% of its users only use 20% of the features. It's time to rediscover Microsoft Office features you never considered. We've compiled eight incredibly useful productivity... Read More If you want to create groupings of similar functions, there is an option called
If you want to keep your work, you can use the Import and Export Button on the page to export your customizations to a file. Once you have everything in order, just click OK to get back to Excel with your new and improved QAT. Whenever you want to access one of its functions, press ALT followed by the number of the command to execute it immediately.
This is much faster and less annoying. 5 Tricks to Disable Hassles and Improve Office 2013 5 Tricks to Disable Hassles and Improve Office 2013 Microsoft Office 2013 has been out for a few months now, and as is always the case with a new version, there are a few quirks and annoyances that have led to users to wonder if… Read More
Macros are an extremely useful but often overlooked feature in Office that allow you to record a series of actions and play them back automatically. If you have trouble remembering complex formulas Need help with Excel formulas? 7 resources to check out Need help with Excel formulas? 7 Resources to Reference Excel is the gold standard of spreadsheets. If you must use Excel and yet become familiar with it, these resources will quickly introduce you to the basics and beyond. Read More
Macros are really just Visual Basic code How You Can Create Your Own Simple Application With VBA How You Can Create Your Own Simple Application With VBA For those of you who would really love to be able to write your own application, but have never written a single line of code before, I'll walk you through making your own... Read More decided to pursue programming, either for a career or just as a hobby. Cool! But maybe you're starting to feel overwhelmed. No good. Here's help to make your journey easier. Read More To start using them, enable the Developer Ribbon tab by going to File> Options and choose Customize Ribbon in the left pane. On the right side, make sure Developer is checked, then press OK return.
Now we can record our first macro. Go to the Developer tab on the ribbon and choose Record Macro . Give it a name to remember it (it can't have spaces) and then assign a key that works for you. The box displays CTRL + Another key, but you can also add Shift there by pressing while selecting a key. Keep in mind that you can override keyboard shortcuts Windows Keyboard Shortcuts 101:The Ultimate Guide Windows Keyboard Shortcuts 101:The Ultimate Guide Keyboard shortcuts can save you hours of time. Master the universal Windows keyboard shortcuts, keyboard tricks for specific programs, and a few other tips to speed up your work. Read more here so if you make your macro run CTRL + Z you won't be able to use that for undo.
Under Store macro in: select Personal Macro Notebook. This is a file that allows you to share macros between Excel workbooks, which is perfect for defining shortcuts. If we wanted to run macros on a single workbook, we would change this setting. Give your macro a short description if you like, then click OK .
Important: Now, everything you do is being recorded by the macro. Any macro you select, font changes you apply, or characters you type will be recorded in the macro. So you could, for example, make a macro that selects cell B3, types "test," and formats it as bold. Once you've performed exactly the action you want to record, select Stop recording about the Developer tab to end the macro.
After this, you can access by selecting Macros from the left side of the Developer tongue. This shows you a list of your macros, and you can press Edit to see the Visual Basic code for the macro - this is a good way to make sure you didn't record any extra steps, even if you don't fully understand the code 8 Tried and True Tips for learning how to code code 8 Tried and True tips for learn how to code Skilled programmers have been in high demand for years, and it doesn't look like the demand is about to let up anytime soon. But even if you don't intend to make a living as... Read More Once you're satisfied, you can press the key combination you assigned at any time to run your macro.
Bonus Tip: You can combine macros and the QAT! Once you've saved a macro, open the QAT menu again and change the Choose commands from box for Macros . Search for the name of the one you like, and you can add it to the QAT like any other action! So if you're having trouble remembering your macro shortcut combinations, you can set them to ALT and a number in the QAT!
What you do with macros is up to you, but there are tons of possibilities 7 Weird Fun Things You Can Create With Microsoft Excel 7 Weird Fun Things You Can Create With Microsoft Excel Imagine Excel was fun! Excel offers ample scope for projects that go beyond its intended use. The only limit is your imagination. These are the most creative examples of how people use Excel. Read more . Think of anything you do in Excel on a regular basis that can be automated, and try creating a macro for it. Automating these tedious tasks could save you hours, if you started using them regularly!
Now you don't have to waste time searching for repetitive tasks or digging through Excel menus to find that feature. Shortcuts take a while to set up and will be different for everyone, but they are essential to Excel's efficiency. Macros aren't really scary once you've done them, and there's no reason not to use the QAT. Shortcut rule!
Don't let your shortcut rule now! Check out the top keyboard shortcuts for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 60 Essential Microsoft Office Keyboard Shortcuts for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 60 Essential Microsoft Office Keyboard Shortcuts for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts available at Office, are the most important ones you should know because they will save you a lot of time. Read more.
What shortcuts have you created with these methods? I'm looking forward to hearing your best macros in the comments!
