Why Learn Excel Shortcuts?

We know better than anyone that being in finance, whether that’s investment banking, wealth management, private equity or in the corporate sector, involves lengthy stints working solely in Excel. So, how can you make this process easier for yourself? Simple. Learn as many Excel shortcuts as you can. They’ll help you to navigate quickly around, and make the system actually work for you. This is why we believe mastering Excel is the first step to ‘excelling’ at financial modeling. Gone are the days of clicking the mouse and hoping for the best; it’s time to kick your keyboard into action and utilize specific key combinations to your advantage.

While you’ll find lots of shortcuts and cheats all over the internet, it can be hard to know what’s really worth learning – there’s a whole load of jargon out there, trust us. Who wants to learn 50 shortcuts off by heart, let alone “100 of the best”? This is why our industry experts have pulled together a definitive list of their favorites, guaranteed to increase your productivity and make for a fluid workflow.

15 Excel Shortcuts

Copy and paste as an absolute reference
Ctrl C > Ctrl Alt V L
Hide / unhide the menu ribbon
Ctrl F1
Flip through open Excel files
Ctrl Tab
Save as
F12
Insert row
Alt > I > R
Close file
Ctrl W
Format as strike through
Ctrl 5
Select all cells with comments
Ctrl Shift 0
Copy formula from above exactly
Ctrl ‘
Turn on formula view
Ctrl `
Print preview
Ctrl F2
Hard return for text within a cell
Alt Enter
Select and calculate part of a formula Press F2 select formula section using

Shift and the arrow keys and then press F9
Trace precedents
Alt M P
Expand formula bar
Ctrl Shift U