Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel for Data Entry

Microsoft Excel is extensively used across the globe to store and analyze data. Despite various new data analytics tools in the market, Excel remains the go-to product for working with data. It has numerous in-built features, which makes it easier for you to organize your data.

The shortcut keys in Excel help you work on your data in a jiffy. In this article, we’ll be discussing the various Excel shortcuts. These keyboard shortcuts are used to perform tasks faster and effectively.

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What is MS Excel?

MS Excel is a spreadsheet program where one can record data in the form of tables. It is easy to analyse data in an Excel spreadsheet. The image given below represents how an Excel spreadsheet looks like:

MS Excel

MS Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application that is produced and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS operating systems. It features the ability to perform basic calculations, use graphing tools, create pivot tables and create macros, among other useful features.

Spreadsheet applications such as MS Excel use a collection of cells arranged into rows and columns to organize and manipulate data. They can also display data as charts, histograms and line graphs.

MS Excel permits users to arrange data in order to view various factors from different perspectives. Microsoft Visual Basic is a programming language used for applications in Excel, allowing users to create a variety of complex numerical methods. Programmers are given an option to code directly using the Visual Basic Editor, including Windows for writing code, debugging and code module organization.

Computer Keyboard – Parts, Functions, Quiz

Need for Excel Shortcuts

Excel supports a plethora of keyboard shortcuts that help you work efficiently and increase productivity. Instead of accessing the toolbar with a mouse, two or three keystrokes are used to perform significant functions. Isn’t that easier and time-saving? Using Excel shortcuts drastically increases the speed, and thus reduces work-time.

Now the question is, if you have to memorize these shortcuts, the answer is no. However, it would be an advantage if you can remember a few of them. With regular practice, you will be able to remember most of the common Excel shortcuts.

Let’s now look at the Excel shortcuts cheat sheet, which you should know when working on Microsoft Excel. In this article, we have categorized 50 Excel shortcuts based on their operations. First, we will look at the workbook shortcut keys.

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Benefits of Using keyboard Shortcuts

1. You Get Efficient Outputs

Using shortcuts, you can copy all the text from a document by simply pressing Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+C, to copy all the text at a glance.

Shortcuts increase your productivity and enable you to accomplish more tasks if you start utilizing them instead of a mouse. Using keyboard shortcuts maximizes the outputs you can produce in less time.

On the other hand, it takes a lot of time if you use a mouse to select and drag all the way down to select a certain bit of text in a document.

2. Enables Multi-Tasking

Multi-tasking is a necessity in this day and age. Being a multi-tasker helps you to complete your daily work quickly.

Multi-tasking is the ability to check the boxes on our daily to-do list while dealing with numerous tools and tabs at once.

The significant advantage of using shortcuts is that it enables you to perform multitasking. Using shortcuts in your daily usage enables you to navigate through multitasking activities easily. Using keyboard shortcuts might sometimes feel difficult. Once you get used to them, though, you’ll eventually become a ninja at the keyboard.

3. Beneficial Effects On Health

Using keyboard shortcuts is also beneficial for your health. It reduces the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI) by cutting down your mouse activities. If you perform repetitive tasks using a mouse, there are many possibilities that you can develop RSI.

Resting your palm heel on the desk and raising your fingers to click can cause RSI. If you start to use keyboard shortcuts, you can minimize mouse activities and save hundreds of mouse clicks daily. It reduces the fatigue in your fingers and wrists.

4. Makes Your Work Precise

Keyboard shortcuts are highly beneficial when you want to complete your work in a precise manner.

It is also advisable in many organizations to perform more tasks via keyboard, rather than a mouse, to get the precise output. Typing and editing work is more accurate to handle through keyboard shortcuts. Fast movements of fingers on the keyboard make you look more professional. Using shortcuts not only makes you precise but also leaves a good impression on other colleagues too.

5. Fast Working

The other main and most significant advantage of using keyboard shortcuts is that you can perform tasks ten times faster than working with the mouse.

It is because you take time to place the cursor on the correct option. You don’t have to look for specific options when using keyboard shortcuts .This saves you a lot of time.

Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel for Data Entry