Keyboard shortcuts let you work faster and unlock special features. This post explores 10 essential keyboard shortcuts for any spreadsheet user, as well as power user hot keys using advanced Alt shortcuts for Windows and Option key shortcuts for Mac users. Row Zero is an enterprise-grade spreadsheet built for big data that offers first-class keyboard shortcuts for power users on any operating system.
- Top 10 Keyboard Shortcuts
- Power User Hot Keys: Alt Shortcuts on Windows, Option Shortcuts on Mac
- Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet - Windows vs Mac
Top 10 Keyboard Shortcuts
The best spreadsheet keyboard shortcuts are the ones that save the most time or perform a special function that is otherwise not available. The most useful keyboard shortcuts vary by job function, but the following are essential keyboard shortcuts for big data users in Row Zero.
1. Cut / Copy / Paste
Cut, copy, and paste are essential shortcuts for quickly moving and duplicating data around your workbook and externally.
- Cut - Ctrl+X on Windows, ⌘+X on Mac
- Copy - Ctrl+C on Windows, ⌘+C on Mac
- Paste - Ctrl+V on Windows, ⌘+V on Mac
You can also use paste special shortcuts for paste values, transposed, formats, and formulas.
2. Undo / Redo
The undo shortcut lets you easily revert back. Redo re-applies an undone action.
- Undo - Ctrl+Z on Windows, ⌘+Z on Mac
- Redo - Ctrl+Y on Windows, ⌘+Y on Mac
3. Selection shortcuts
Selection shortcuts are a very helpful way to select a large number of cells quickly to cut/copy, add filters, insert pivot tables, reference in formulas, etc.
- Select all - Ctrl+A on Windows, ⌘+A on Mac - Selects all contiguous cells. Repeat to select every cell in the sheet.
- Select column - Ctrl+ spacebar on Windows, ⌘+ spacebar on Mac
- Select row - Shift+ spacebar on Windows, Shift+ spacebar on Mac
- Select nearby cell - Shift + arrow key on both Windows and Mac - Selects current selection plus the next cell in the direction of the arrow key used
- Select all in a direction - Shift+Ctrl+arrow key on Windows, Shift+⌘+arrow key on Mac selects all contiguous cells in the direction of the arrow key used
4. Find
- Ctrl+F on Windows, ⌘+F on Mac
This shortcuts opens the Find feature which searches for a specific value, identifies all occurrences, and highlights them. Use the up and down arrows to jump to the next or previous occurrence.
5. Navigate to last cell with data
This shortcut navigates to the last cell with data in whatever arror key direction you select and is an essential shortcut for navigating large spreadsheets.
- Ctrl + arrow key on Windows, ⌘ + arrow key on Mac (up key goes up, right goes right, etc.)
6. Fill down/right
This shortcut fills down the contents and formatting from the cell above into the currently selected cell(s) in the same column. You can similarly fill right across a row.
- Fill down - Ctrl+D on Windows, ⌘+D on Mac
- Fill right - Ctrl+R on Windows, ⌘+R on Mac
Note, to fill a column, you can use Ctrl+Shift+ down arrow to select your column to fill and then Ctrl+D to fill it.
7. Formatting shortcuts
There are dozens of formatting shortcuts in spreadsheets. Here are a few popular ones:
- Bold - Ctrl+B on Windows, ⌘+B on Mac
- Italic - Ctrl+I on Windows, ⌘+I on Mac
- Underline - Ctrl+U on Windows, ⌘+U on Mac
- Number - Ctrl+Shift+1 on Windows, ⌘+Shift+1 on Mac
- Currency - Ctrl+Shift+4 on Windows, ⌘+Shift+4 on Mac
- Percent - Ctrl+Shift+5 on Windows, ⌘+Shift+5 on Mac
8. Insert current date and time
- Insert current date - Ctrl+; on Windows, ⌘+; on Mac
- Insert current time - Ctrl+Shift+; on Windows, ⌘+Shift+; on Mac
- Insert current date & time - Ctrl+Shift+Alt+; on Windows, ⌘+Shift+Alt+; on Mac
9. Go to specific cell
This keyboard shortcut is very helpful when navigating large spreadsheets.
- On Windows: Ctrl+J then type cell reference and hit enter
- On Mac: ⌘+J then type cell reference and hit return
10. Go to next/previous sheet
This keyboard shortcut is helpful for navigating between sheets and writing formulas with cross-sheet references.
- Go to next sheet - Ctrl+Shift+PageDown on Windows, ⌘+Shift+PageDown on Mac
- Go to previous sheet - Ctrl+Shift+PageUp on Windows, ⌘+Shift+PageUp on Mac
This list is just scratching the surface. View the full list of keyboard shortcuts.
Note, many keyboard shortcuts are the same across all spreadsheets but there are differences across more advanced keyboard shortcuts for Excel, Google Sheets, and Row Zero.
The Power User Hot Keys
Alt shortcuts for Windows and Option shortcuts for Mac
There is a whole world of spreadsheet power users who operate at a high speed and rarely ever take their hands off the keyboard to navigate or click with a mouse or trackpad. These folks use Alt Shortcuts (for Windows) and Option Shortcuts (for Mac) in Row Zero.
Alt and Option shortcuts let you hit successive keys to toggle specific actions in a manner similar to navigating menu items. Similar to Excel Key Tips, Row Zero provides a context menu for navigating these shortcuts, which is triggered with the Alt key on Windows and the Option Key on Mac. 
Once triggered, you can reference the menu for the keys to hit and can hit the Esc key to go back in the menu. View the full list of Alt shortcuts (and matching Mac option shortcuts) available in Row Zero.
Excel also supports Alt key shortcuts on Windows, but does not fully support comparable Option shortcuts on Excel for Mac. As a result, Excel for Mac users may purchase an Excel add-on called Accelerator Keys which provides the missing Alt shortcuts for Mac Excel users. Google Sheets also does not fully support these same Alt and Option key shortcuts.
You may also hear these referred to as ribbon shortcuts in Excel since they leverage the Excel ribbon by combining the Alt key with the Key Tips shown in the Excel ribbon.
Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet - Windows vs Mac
In the Row Zero Docs, you can search all keyboard shortcuts available in Row Zero and toggle between Windows and Mac keyboard shortcuts as well as Standard and Chord Shortcuts (Alt and Option key shortcuts). You can also view a live sheet of keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac side-by-side if you need a quick keyboard shortcut cheat sheet.
Conclusion
Keyboard shortcuts let you maximize spreadsheet speed and efficiency. Basic keyboard shortcuts in Excel, Google Sheets, and Row Zero are similar. However Row Zero offers matching advanced keyboard shortcuts for both Mac and Windows users using Alt shortcuts for Windows and Option shortcuts for Mac users. Row Zero is specifically built for big data and lets power users work much faster in big spreadsheets well beyond the limits of Excel and Google Sheets. Try Row Zero for free to speed up your spreadsheets.