Excel 2010 All-in-One For Dummies
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As an integral part of the Ribbon interface used by the major applications included in Microsoft Office 2010, Excel gives you access to hot keys that can help you select program commands more quickly. As soon as you press the Alt key, Excel displays the mnemonic letter choices on the various tabs and command buttons on the Ribbon. Then, simply press the mnemonic (or not-so-mnemonic) letters to perform a particular task.

File menu commands: common Excel 2010 hot keys

To activate the Excel 2010 hot keys, you press the Alt key before typing the mnemonic letters for a particular task. The mnemonic letter is F (for File) for the commands on the File menu in the new Backstage View. All you have to remember, then, is the second letter in the sequence; unfortunately, not all of the second letters are intuitive, as you can see in the following table.

Hot Key Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+FS File Menu→Save Saves changes to a workbook. When you first select this command for a new workbook, Excel displays the Save As dialog box
Alt+FA File Menu→Save As Display the Save As dialog box in the regular worksheet view where you can modify the filename, location where the file is saved, and format that the file is saved in
Alt+FO File Menu→Open Displays the Open dialog box in the regular worksheet view where you can select a new Excel workbook to open for editing or printing
Alt+FC File Menu→Close Closes the current workbook without exiting Excel
Alt+FI File Menu→Info Displays the Information panel in the Backstage View where you can see a preview of the current worksheet along with statistics about the workbook as well as protect the workbook, check the file for compatibility issues, and manage different versions created by the AutoRecover feature
Alt+FR File Menu→Recent Displays a list of the last 20 workbook files most recently opened for editing in Excel
Alt+FN File Menu→New Displays the Available Templates panel in the Backstage View box where you can open a blank workbook or one from a template
Alt+FP File Menu→Print Displays the Print panel in the Backstage View where you can change the print settings before sending the current worksheet, workbook, or cell selection to the printer
Alt+FD File Menu→Save & Send Displays the Save & Send panel in the Backstage View where you can send the current workbook as an e-mail attachment, save it in a new file format, or save it online to your company’s SharePoint site or your own Windows Live SkyDrive
Alt+FH File Menu→Help Displays the Support panel in the Backstage View where you get help using Excel, check for updates to the program, and get statistics about the version of Excel 2010 you’re running
Alt+FT File Menu→Options Displays the Excel Options dialog box in the regular worksheet view where you can change default program settings, modify the buttons on the Quick Access toolbar, and customize the Excel Ribbon
Alt+FX File Menu→Exit Excel Quits the Excel program and closes all open workbooks after prompting you to save them

Hot keys for Excel 2010 editing commands

To activate Excel 2010 hot keys, you press the Alt key before you type the mnemonic letters for a particular task. The mnemonic letter is H (Home) for the editing commands because these commands are located on the Home tab. The remaining letters in the hot key sequences are not so intuitive.

Fortunately, the most common editing commands (Cut, Copy, and Paste) still respond to the old Ctrl+key sequences (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V), and you may find them quicker to use.

Hot Key Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+HVP Home→Paste→Paste Pastes the currently cut or copied cell selection or graphic objects in the worksheet
Alt+HX Home→Cut Cuts the cell selection or selected graphic objects out of the workbook and places them on the Windows Clipboard
Alt+HC Home→Copy Copies the cell selection or selected graphic objects to the Windows Clipboard
Alt+HFP Home→Format Painter Activates the Format Painter
Alt+HFO Home→Clipboard Dialog Box Launcher Displays and hides the Clipboard task pane
Alt+HII Home→Insert→Insert Cells Opens Insert dialog box so you can indicate the direction in which to shift existing cells to make room for the ones being inserted
Alt+HIR Home→Insert→Insert Sheet Rows Inserts blank rows equal to the number of rows in the cell selection
Alt+HIC Home→Insert→Insert Sheet Columns Inserts blank columns equal to the number of columns in the cell selection
Alt+HIS Home→Insert→Insert Sheet Inserts a new worksheet in the workbook
Alt+HDD Home→Delete→Delete Cells Opens Delete dialog box so you can indicate the direction in which to shift existing cells to replace the ones being deleted
Alt+HDR Home→Delete→Delete Sheet Rows Deletes rows equal to the number of rows in the cell selection
Alt+HDC Home→Delete→Delete Sheet Columns Deletes columns equal to the number of columns in the cell selection
Alt+HDS Home→Delete→Sheet Deletes the current worksheet after warning you of data loss if the sheet contains cell entries
Alt+HEA Home→Clear→Clear All Clears the contents, formatting, and comments from the cell selection
Alt+HEF Home→Clear→Clear Formats Clears the formatting of the cell selection without removing the contents and comments
Alt+HEC Home→Clear→Clear Contents Clears the contents of the cell selection without removing the formatting and comments
Alt+HEM Home→Clear→Clear Comments Clears all comments in the cell selection without removing the formatting and contents
Alt+HEL Home→Clear→Clear Hyperlinks Clears all hyperlinks in the cell selection without removing the formatting and contents

Excel 2010 view commands hot keys

You can activate the Excel 2010 hot keys by pressing the Alt key before you type the mnemonic letters for a particular task. The mnemonic letter for all view-related commands in Excel 2010 is W (the last letter you see in vieW). Therefore, all the hot keys for switching the Excel worksheet into a new view begin with Alt+W. Remember that, and you’ll find most of the subsequent letters fairly easy to deal with.

Hot Key Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+WL View→Normal View Returns the worksheet to normal view from Page Layout or Page
Break Preview
Alt+WP View→Page Layout View Puts the worksheet into Page Layout View showing the page
breaks, margins, and rulers
Alt+WI View→Page Break Preview Puts the worksheet into Page Break Preview showing pages breaks
that you can adjust
Alt+WE View→Full Screen Puts the worksheet in full-screen mode which hides the File
Menu, Quick Access toolbar, and Ribbon — press the Esc key to
restore previous viewing mode
Alt+WVG View→Gridlines Hides and redisplays the row and column gridlines that form the
cells in the Worksheet area
Alt+WG View→Zoom to Selection Zooms the Worksheet area in or out to the magnification
percentage needed to display just the cell selection
Alt+WJ View→100% Returns the Worksheet area to the default 100% magnification
percentage
Alt+WN View→New Window Inserts a new window in the current workbook
Alt+WA View→Arrange All Opens the Arrange dialog box where you can select how workbook
windows are displayed on the screen
Alt+WF View→Freeze Panes Opens the Freeze Panes drop-down menu where you select how to
freeze rows and columns in the Worksheet area: Freeze Panes (to
freeze all the rows above and columns to the left of the cell
cursor); Freeze Top Row; or Freeze First Column
Alt+WS View→Split Splits the worksheet into four panes using the top and left
edge of the cell cursor as the vertical and horizontal dividing
lines — press hot keys again to remove all panes
Alt+WH View→Hide Hides the current worksheet window or workbook
Alt+WU View→Unhide Opens the Unhide dialog box where you can select the window or
workbook to redisplay
Alt+WB View→View Side by Side Tiles two open windows or workbooks one above the other for
comparison — press hot keys again to restore the original
full windows
Alt+WW View→Switch Windows Opens the Switch Windows drop-down menu where you can select
the open window or workbook to make active

Hot keys for common Excel 2010 formula commands

You activate Excel 2010 hot keys by pressing the Alt key before you type the mnemonic letter for a particular task. Hot key sequences for the most common formula-related commands in Excel 2010 begin with the sequence Alt+M because the M in forMulas was the only mnemonic key still available (F is assigned to the File menu commands). After you know to press Alt+M to access Formula tab commands, it’s pretty easy sailing.

Hot Key Excel Ribbon Command Function
Alt+MF Formulas→Insert Function Opens the Insert Function dialog box (same as clicking the
Insert Function button on the Formula bar
Alt+MUS Formulas→AutoSum→Sum Selects the occupied range above the cell cursor and inserts
SUM formula to total the range
Alt+MUA Formulas→AutoSum→Average Selects the occupied range above the cell cursor and inserts
AVERAGE formula to calculate the average of total in the range
Alt+MUC Formulas→AutoSum→Count Numbers Selects the occupied range above the cell cursor and inserts
COUNT formula to count the number of values in the range
Alt+MI Formulas→Financial Opens a drop-down menu listing all Financial functions —
click name to insert function into current cell
Alt+ME Formulas→Date & Time Opens a drop-down menu listing all Date and Time functions
— click name to insert function into current cell
Alt+MN Formulas→Name Manager Opens Name Manager dialog box showing all range names in
workbook where you can add, edit, and delete names
Alt+MMD Formulas→Define Name Opens New Name dialog box where you can assign a name to the
cell selection or define a new constant
Alt+MS Formulas→Use in Formula Displays drop-down menu with range names in workbook that you
can insert into current formula by clicking
Alt+MC Formulas→Create from Selection Opens Create Names from Selection dialog box where you indicate
which rows and columns to use in naming cell selection
Alt+MH Formulas→Show Formulas (Ctrl+`) Displays and then hides all formulas in cells of the
worksheet
Alt+MXA Formulas→Options→Automatic Turns automatic recalculation back on
Alt+MXE Formulas→Options→Automatic Except for Data
Tables
Turns automatic recalculation back on for all parts of the
worksheet except for ranges with Data Tables
Alt+MXM Formulas→Options→Manual Turns on manual recalculation
Alt+MB Formulas→Calculate Now (F9) Recalculates formulas throughout the entire workbook when
manual recalculation is turned on
Alt+MJ Formulas→Calculate Sheet (Shift+F9) Recalculates formulas in the current worksheet when manual
recalculation is turned on

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Greg Harvey, PhD, is president of Mind Over Media, Inc. He is the author of all editions of Excel For Dummies, Excel All-in-One For Dummies, Excel Workbook For Dummies, and Windows For Dummies Quick Reference. He's also an experienced educator.

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