Excel Viewing Shortcuts

Written by

Editorial Team

Reviewed by

Editorial Team

Last updated on November 29, 2023

Move One Screen Up

When you use this shortcut, you will move an entire screen up.

PC Shortcut:PgUp
Mac Shortcut:fn+

viewing page up

On a PC, press PG UP to move an entire screen up, selecting the cell in the same column one screen above. How far it moves the cursor depends on the zoom. On a Mac, press Command (⌘) and the Up Arrow key simultaneously.

Google Sheets uses the same shortcut.

Move One Screen Down

When you use this shortcut, you will move an entire screen down.

PC Shortcut:PgDn
Mac Shortcut:fn+

viewing page down

On a PC, press PG DN to move an entire screen down, selecting the cell in the same column one screen below. How far it moves the cursor depends on the zoom. On a Mac, press Command (⌘) and the down arrow key simultaneously.

Google Sheets uses the same shortcut.

Move One Screen Right

When you use this shortcut, you will move an entire screen to the right.

PC Shortcut:Alt+PgDn
Mac Shortcut:fn+>

alt page down

On a PC, press ALT + PG DN to move an entire screen to the right, selecting the cell in the same row one screen over. How far it moves the cursor depends on the zoom. On a Mac, press Command (⌘),Option/Alt (⌥)and the down arrow key simultaneously.

Google Sheets uses the same shortcut.

Move One Screen Left

When you use this shortcut, you will move an entire screen to the left.

PC Shortcut:Alt+PgUp
Mac Shortcut:fn+>

alt page up

On a PC, press ALT + PG UP to move an entire screen to the left, selecting the cell in the same row one screen back. How far it moves the cursor depends on the zoom. On a Mac, press Command (⌘), Option/Alt (⌥) and the Up Arrow key simultaneously.

Google Sheets uses the same shortcut.

Move to Next Pane

This shortcut will move you between panes in a worksheet that has been split.

PC Shortcut:F6
Mac Shortcut:F6

f6 split

Press the F6 key to move the next pane in a worksheet that has been split. If you keep pressing F6, you will move to each pane in a clockwise direction.

Move to Previous Pane

This shortcut will move you between panes in a worksheet that has been split.

PC Shortcut:Shift+F6
Mac Shortcut:+F6

f6 split reverse

Press SHIFT + F6 to move the previous pane in a worksheet that has been split. If you keep pressing SHIFT + F6, you will move to each pane in an anti-clockwise direction.

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Move Window

This shortcut enables you to move the active window around the screen using the arrow keys.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F7

move window

When you press CTRL + F7, your cell pointer will change to a small cross. You can then use the arrow keys to move your active window around your screen. The left arrow key will move your window to the left, the right arrow key will move your window to the right and the up or down keys will move the window up or down respectively.

Next Window

This shortcut activates the next window.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F6

next window

If you have more than one window open in Excel, pressing CTRL + F6 will enable you to toggle through the open windows.

Minimize Current Workbook Window

This shortcut minimizes the active window.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F9
Mac Shortcut:+M

minimize

If you click in your Excel window, and press CTRL + F9, the Excel Application will be minimized and shown as an icon on the Task Bar in Windows.

Maximize Current Workbook Window

This shortcut maximizes or restores the active window.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F10

maximize

If you press CTRL + F10 Excel will either be maximized on your screen, of it is already maximized, it will re-sized to the last restore size setting that you had in Excel.

Restore a Window

This shortcut will restore your window to its previous size.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F5

maximize

If you are in maximized view, and you press CTRL + F5 in your workbook, your active window will return to its previous size.

Resize a Window

This shortcut will allow you to resize your current Excel window with your arrow keys.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F8

resize f8

Pressing CTRL + F8, activates Resize mode in Excel. You can use the arrow keys to resize your active window. If your view is already maximized, the shortcut does nothing.

Close a Window

This shortcut will close your current window.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F4

close window

Pressing CTRL + F4 will close your current window. If you have made changes, it will ask if you want to save the changes otherwise it will just close without any prompts. If you only have one Excel window open, then Excel itself will be closed.

Enter Full Screen Mode

This shortcut displays your screen in full screen mode.

PC Shortcut:Alt+V>U

full screen

When you press ALT + V, and then U, you will go into full screen mode. You can press ESC to exit full screen mode.

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Go to Next Worksheet

This shortcut will move you to the next sheet in your workbook.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+PgDn
Mac Shortcut:++
Google Sheets Shortcut:Alt+

control page down

On a PC , press CTRL + PG DN to move to the next sheet in your workbook. If you are on the last sheet, nothing will occur. On a Mac, press Command (⌘), Control (⌃), and the down arrow key simultaneously.

Go to Previous Worksheet

This shortcut will move you to the previous sheet in your workbook.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+PgUp
Mac Shortcut:++
Google Sheets Shortcut:Alt+

control page up

On a PC, press CTRL + PG UP to move to the previous sheet in your workbook. If you are on the first sheet, nothing will occur. On a Mac, press Command (⌘), Control (⌃), and the Up Arrow key simultaneously. If you are using Google Sheets, hold down the ALT key and press the Up Arrow.

Activate the View Tab on the Ribbon

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

PC Shortcut:Alt+W
Google Sheets Shortcut: Alt+V

alt w view tab

When you press ALT+W, the View tab on the Ribbon will be activated and will show you a variety of shortcut keys available to be used.

Normal View

This shortcut shows the Excel screen in Normal view.

PC Shortcut:Alt+W>L

alt w vl

Pressing ALT + W, then L, changes your worksheet view to the Normal view.

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Page Break Preview

This shortcut shows the Excel screen in Page Break Preview View.

PC Shortcut:Alt+W>I

viewing alt w
When you press ALT + W then I, your worksheet will go into Page Break view.

Page Layout View

This shortcut shows the Excel screen in Page Layout View.

PC Shortcut:Alt+W>P

viewing alt w p

When you press ALT+W then P, your worksheet will go into Page Layout View.

Expand or Collapse the Ribbon

This shortcut will toggle expanding or collapsing the Ribbon.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F1

navigation collapse ribbon

When you press CTRL + F1, the ribbon will either collapse or expand.

Expand or Collapse Formula Bar

This shortcut expands or collapses the size of the formula bar.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+Shift+U

ctrl shift u
When you press CTRL + SHIFT+U, the formula bar will either collapse or expand.

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Toggle the Formula Bar

This shortcut switches the formula bar on or off.

PC Shortcut:Alt+W>VF

viewing alt w vf

When you press ALT+W then VF, the formula bar will be switched on or off.

Formula View Mode

This shortcut will toggle the formula view mode.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+`
Mac Shortcut:+`

formula view mode

Press CTRL + ` (grave accent) to switch from normal mode to formula mode, and then press it again to toggle back again.

Google Sheets uses the same shortcut.

Hide Rows

This shortcut will hide any rows where you have selected cells.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+9

show rows

When you press CTRL + 9, you will hide any rows where you have selected cells.

Show Rows

This shortcut will show any hidden rows contained within the rage of cells you have selected.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+Shift+9

hide rows

When you press CTRL + 9, you will unhide any rows where your cell pointer is, or if you have selected the cells above and below the hidden rows.

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Hide Columns

This shortcut will hide any columns where you have selected cells.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+0</span

hide columns

When you press CTRL + 0 (zero), you will hide any columns where you have selected cells.

Zoom In

This shortcut will zoom in on your worksheet.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+Alt+=

zoom in
When you press CTRL + ALT and = (equal sign), you will increase the zoom percentage of your worksheet. If you keep pressing the key combination, you will increase the zoom factor of your worksheet each time. CTRL + ALT and the plus sign on your number pad will also work to zoom in on your worksheet.

Zoom Out

This shortcut will zoom out on your worksheet.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+Alt+– (minus sign)

zoom out

CTRL + ALT and the minus sign will decrease the zoom percentage of your worksheet. If you keep pressing the key combination, you will decrease the zoom factor of your worksheet each time. CTRL + ALT and the minus sign on your number pad will also work to zoom out on your worksheet.

Print Preview

This shortcut will display the Print Menu and show your worksheet in Print Preview Mode

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+F2
Mac Shortcut:+P

Google Sheets Shortcut:Ctrl+P

print preview

If you press CTRL + F2 in your worksheet, you will move to Print Preview view.

 

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Print Screen

This shortcut will put a screen shot of your entire screen onto the clipboard.

PC Shortcut:PrtSc
Mac Shortcut:+PrtSc

print screen

If you have more than one window showing on your screen, or if you have 2 screen side by side – all the displayed info on your screens will be copied to the clipboard. The example above shows a bigger screen on the left, and a smaller laptop screen on the right. When PRINT SCREEN is pressed, the images on both screens are copied to the clipboard.

 

Rotate/Flip the Screen

This shortcut will flip your screen upside down or sideways depending on the arrow key chosen.

PC Shortcut:Ctrl+Alt+
  1. Press CTRL + ALT+ ↓to flip your screen upside down.

navigation screen flip upside down

  1. You can press the right arrow key to flip to the right, the left arrow key to flip to the left and the Up Arrow key to put the screen the correct way up again!

navigation screen flip upright