Excel Ribbon Shortcuts

Written by

Editorial Team

Reviewed by

Editorial Team

Last updated on December 1, 2023

Display Key Tips

The Excel shortcut shows the Ribbon shortcut keys (key tips).

PC Shortcut:Alt

ribbon alt

 

Press the ALT key to show the short cut keys on the ribbon that you can then use to activate those ribbon commands.   You can press the letter that is shown to perform the associated function.

File Menu

This Excel shortcut moves to the File Menu in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>F

ribbon alt f

 

When you press ALT+F, your file menu will appear showing the shortcut keys that you can use to access various functions in this menu.

 

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Home Tab

This Excel shortcut moves to the Home tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>H

ribbon alt h

 

If you press ALT+H, the Home tab on the ribbon will be selected and all the shortcut keys to use functions on this ribbon tab will be shown.

 

Insert Tab

This Excel shortcut moves to the Insert tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>N

ribbon alt n

 

ALT+N will activate the Insert tab in the Ribbon.   It will show the shortcut key or combination of shortcut keys that can be used to perform the functions in that tab.  If 2 keys are shown, press the first key and then  the second.

 

Page Layout Tab

This Excel shortcut moves to the Page Layout tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>P

You can press ALT+P to activate the Page Layout tab on your ribbon and display all the available shortcut keys.

 

Formulas Tab

This Excel shortcut moves to the Formulas tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>M

ribbon alt m

 

ALT-M will activate the formulas tab on the Ribbon.  You can then press one of the keys displayed to use that function.

 

This Excel shortcut moves to the Data tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>A

ribbon alt a

 

Press ALT+A to activate the Data tab on the Ribbon.  Some of the shortcuts shown require you to press just one key while others need you to press the first key shown, and then the second.

Review Tab

This Excel shortcut moves to the Review tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>R

The Review tab is displayed on the Ribbon by pressing ALT+R.

View Tab

This Excel shortcut moves to the View tab in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>W

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ribbon alt w

 

When you press ALT+W, the View tab on the Ribbon will be displayed with available keyboard shortcuts shown.

Search Field

This Excel shortcut moves to the search field in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Alt>Q

ribbon alt q

 

If you press ALT+Q, you will activate the Search box in the menu.  You can type in your text to search, or you can click on a topic in Recently Used Actions or Suggested Actions.

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Move Around Ribbon

Up, down, right, and left arrows move around the items on the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:
Mac Shortcut:

arrow keys

 

Oncce you have press a shortcut key to activate your ribbon (such as ALT+H or ALT+N, you can use your arrow keys to move between tabs and functions.  Press the RIGHT Arrow Key to move to the next tab, and the LEFT Arrow Key to move to the previous tab.  Your DOWN arrow key will take you down into the commands contained within that tab, while the UP arrow key will move you back up again to the ribbon tabs.

Open List for Selected Command

This Excel shortcut opens the list for the selected command in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:
Mac Shortcut:+

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ribbon down key

 

If you press Alt+H (or any other shortcut key to activate the ribbon), you can then use your DOWN arrow key to select a command within the tab you have chosen.   If you select a command like the font command shown above, and then once again press the DOWN arrow key, a drop down list will she shown for the selected command.

 

Move to Next Submenu Command

The Excel shortcut moves to the next command when the submenu is open.

PC Shortcut:

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ribbon command down

 

If you have  submenu open in the Ribbon, pressing the DOWN arrow key will move down to the next option or command.

Move to Submenu

The Excel shortcut moves to the submenu when the main menu is open.

PC Shortcut:

This Excel shortcut moves to the next group in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+

ribbon move right through groups

 

Once you have activated your Ribbon using the ALT key and have used your DOWN arrow key to move down to the commands on the Ribbon, you can use CTRL+→ to move through the groups contained within the ribbon tab that you have activated.

Previous Group

This Excel shortcut moves to the previous group in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+

Once you have activated your Ribbon using the ALT key and have used your DOWN arrow key to move down to the commands on the Ribbon, you can use CTRL+ to move through the groups contained within the ribbon tab that you have activated.

Move to Next Command

This Excel shortcut moves to the next command in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Tab
Mac Shortcut:Tab

Once you have activated your Ribbon using the ALT key and have used your DOWN arrow key to move down to the commands on the Ribbon, you can press TAB  to move in a right hand direction through the commands on the ribbon tab that you have activated.

 

Move to Previous Command

This Excel shortcut moves to the previous command in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Shift+Tab
Mac Shortcut:Shift+Tab

ribbon tab left through commands

 

Once you have activated your Ribbon using the ALT key and have used your DOWN arrow key to move down to the commands on the Ribbon, you can press SHIFT+TAB  to move in a left hand direction through the commands on the ribbon tab that you have activated.

Display ToolTip

This Excel shortcut displays the ToolTip for the selected Ribbon element.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+Shift+F10
Mac Shortcut:+Shift+F10

If you have a command selected in the ribbon, you can press CTRL+SHIFT+F10 to show the tooltip for that command.

Open Context Menu

This Excel shortcut opens the context menu for the selected command in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Shift+F10
Mac Shortcut:Shift+F10

These Excel shortcuts activate the selected button in the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Enter   or   Space
Mac Shortcut:Return

ribbon-enter

Once you have pressed your ALT key and the required key to move to the ribbon, you can se the TAB key to move through the commands in the ribbon.  Once you have selected the option that you require, press the ENTER or SPACE  key on the keyboard.

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Expand or Collapse the Ribbon

This Excel shortcut expands the Ribbon in the Ribbon, or collapses the Ribbon if it’s already expanded.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F1
Mac Shortcut:++R
navigation collapse ribbon
When you press CTRL + F1, the ribbon will either collapse or expand.

Legacy Shortcuts

A few  shortcuts from previous versions of Excel still work.   If you type ALT+E for example, a message will appear in your menu bar.
ribbon legacy e
If you then press F on the keyboard, the Find and Replace Dialog box will open.
Other legacy shortcuts that still work are ALT+V and ALT+I.
ALT+V and then P will take you into Page Layout View.
ribbon - alt v
ALT+I and then W will create a new sheet!