If you're used to working with Excel on Windows, one of the most confusing aspects of using Excel on a Mac is shortcuts. Even basic shortcuts you've been using for years in Windows may not work as you expect.
After a few problems, you might wind up thinking that Mac shortcuts are 'totally different' or somehow 'broken'. In reality, Excel shortcuts on the Mac are quite capable, you just have to understand and adjust to certain differences.
Mac OS X Finder Keyboard Shortcuts The Mac OS X Lion Finder helps you access and organize most of the important Mac OS X functions while you work. Use Finder keyboard shortcuts to display windows, copy and move files, and launch applications.
In this article, I'll walk you through the key differences you need to be aware of to work productively with Excel shortcuts on a Mac.
To use these shortcuts, you may have to change your Mac keyboard settings to change the Show Desktop shortcut for the key. Change system preferences for keyboard shortcuts with the mouse. On the Apple menu, press System Preferences. Click Keyboard. Press the Shortcuts tab. Click Mission Control. Shortcut keys ABCs. Shortcut keys help provide an easier and quicker method of navigating and executing commands in computer software. Shortcut keys are commonly accessed by using the Alt key (on IBM compatible computers), Command key (on Apple computers), Ctrl key, or Shift key in conjunction with another key.
Also see: Excel shortcuts on the Mac // 3 minute video
1. Special symbols
One of more confusing aspects of keyboard shortcuts on the Mac are the symbols you'll see for certain keys. For example, the Command key is abbreviated as ⌘, the Control key with ⌃, and the option key as ⌥. These symbols have a long history on the Mac, and you'll find them in menus everywhere.
The Mac Finder – abbreviations appear in all applications, not just Excel
You'll see these symbols in menus across all applications, so they're not specific to Excel. There really aren't too many symbols, so I recommend that you bite the bullet and memorize them. The table below shows some example shortcuts with a translation.
Command | Shortcut | Translation |
New workbook | ⌘N | Command N |
Save As | ⌘⇧S | Command Shift S |
Toggle ribbon | ⌘⌥R | Command Option R |
Paste Special | ⌃⌘V | Control Command V |
Select row | ⇧Space | Shift Space |
2. Function keys
Like their counterparts in the Windows world, Mac keyboards have function keys. These keys sit at the top of the keyboard and are labeled F1 to F12 on standard keyboards and F13, F14 and higher on extended keyboards.
Standard Mac keyboard with 12 function keys
As you know, function keys are uses for many shortcuts in Excel. For example, you can use F1 for help, F7 for spelling, and shift + F3 to insert a function. But if you try these shortcuts directly on a Mac, they don't work. Why?
By default, Function keys on a Mac control the computer itself, things like screen brightness, volume, video pause and play, and so on. This means that if press only the function keys in Excel, you'll end up controlling the Mac, and not Excel.
To make function keys work like you expect in Excel, you need to add a key: the function or fn key. You'll find the fn key in the lower left on your keyboard. Here are a few examples:
Command | Windows | Mac |
New chart | F11 | fn F11 |
Calculate worksheets | F9 | fn F9 |
Open Spelling | F7 | fn F7 |
Evaluate formula | F9 | fn F9 |
If you really hate using the fn key, you can change this behavior by changing a preference at System Preferences > Keyboard. Here you can check a box that will that will change function key behavior to work like 'standard function keys'.
If you do this, however, note that you won't be able to use function keys for things like Brightness, Volume, etc. unless you hold down the fn key. In essence, this setting reverses behavior so that you need to use fn to control the Mac.
Personally, I like using the function keys to control the computer, so I leave this setting alone, and just the fn key when needed in Excel. https://renewworker.weebly.com/download-starcraft-2-build-order-helper-mac.html.
![Shortcut keys for macros Shortcut keys for macros](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133913867/526752668.png)
3. Missing keys
Another difference that may trip you up on a Mac is certain keys are missing.
Unless you're using an extended keyboard, keys like Home, End, backspace, Page up, and Page down are nowhere to be found. This is a problem, because many of these keys are used in Excel shortcuts. The solution is to use specific substitutions, as shown in the table below.
Windows | Mac equivalent |
Home | fn arrow left |
End | fn arrow right |
Page Up | fn arrow up |
Page Down | fn arrow down |
Screen right | fn option arrow down |
Screen left | fn option arrow up |
Move to Last cell | fn control arrow right |
Move to first cell | fn control arrow left |
Delete | fn Delete |
Backspace | Delete |
The substitutions let you perform the same actions you can do in Windows. However, They can make some shortcuts seem complicated on a Mac because you have to use more keys.
Note: If you're using an extended keyboard on a Mac, you don't need to worry about substitutions, since you'll have keys for Home, End, Page up, etc. Mac badge app icon.
Extended keyboards have all the keys
4. Ribbon shortcuts
In the world of shortcuts, perhaps the most painful difference on a Mac is a lack of ribbon shortcuts.
In Excel on Windows, you can use so called accelerator keys to access almost every command in Excel using only your keyboard. This doesn't matter much when you're performing an action that has a dedicated shortcut (i.e. Control + B for bold), since dedicated shortcuts are faster than ribbon shortcuts. But when you want to trigger an action that doesn't have a dedicated shortcut (like sort, hide gridlines, align text, etc.), it hurts a bit.
Excel ribbon in Windows with accelerator keys visible. Adobe lightroom 5.0 download mac. No equivalent on the Mac!
5. Just different
Finally, some Excel shortcuts are just plain different on a Mac.
https://aquayellow946.weebly.com/blog/logmein-for-mac. For example, the shortcut for Edit Cell in Windows is F2, and on a Mac, it's Control + U. The shortcut to toggle absolute and relative references is F4 in Windows, while on a Mac, its Command T. For a complete list of Windows and Mac shortcuts, see our side-by-side list.
If you want to see more Excel shortcuts for the Mac in action, see our our video tips. Whenever we use a shortcut, we show both the Windows and Mac version.
Excel 2016/Office 365
With the introduction of Excel 2016 on the Mac, Microsoft has started to adjust Mac shortcuts to be more aligned with Windows. As of February 2016, many Windows shortcuts can be used in Excel 2016/Office 365. For example, you can use fn + F4 to toggle between absolute and relative references, Control + Shift + L to toggle a filter on and off, etc. So far, all the shortcuts that have been adjusted to match Windows shortcuts remain backward compatible with previous Mac only shortcuts. For example while fn F4 toggles references on the Mac, the old shortcut Command + T still works as well.
More shortcut resources
- 200 Excel shortcuts for Win and Mac (online list)
- The 54 Excel shortcuts you really should know (article)
- Laminated quick reference cards (old school)
- Excel shortcuts course - (video training)
Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of key presses that let you carry out a task without navigating through the menus. PCs have two kinds of keyboard shortcuts. For some, you hold down the Ctrl key and a letter key; for others, you press the Alt key and type one letter from each menu item name — often, but not always, the first letter. https://aquayellow946.weebly.com/blog/ipvanish-for-mac. Mac keyboard shortcuts are like the first type, but you use the Command key instead of the Ctrl key.
Following are examples of Mac keyboard shortcuts:
Keyboard Shortcut |
---|
Action | |
Command+C | Copy |
Command+X | Cut |
Command+V | Paste |
Command+A | Select All |
Command+F | Find |
Command+G | Find Again |
Command+S | Save |
Command+Z | Undo |
Replacing the Ctrl key press with the Command key also applies to most Ctrl key shortcuts in programs, such as Microsoft Office.
Shortcut Keys For Mac Excel
Using hamachi for ppsspp. The letters in keyboard shortcut combinations are always shown capitalized on-screen, but the Mac recognizes the lowercase versions as well. Thus, you can type either Command+Q or Command+q to quit (exit) the program.
Although the Mac OS X menu layout appears to be intuitive and easy to follow, Apple does get a little carried away with shortcuts. There are dozens of them, so don’t try to remember them all. OS X displays the available shortcut for each menu item right in the drop-down menu itself. Some combinations use different and even multiple control keys. Apple uses other symbols in addition to the Command symbol and Apple symbol to indicate these keys:
- Option: This key often modifies a shortcut or menu item by telling it to do more. So, for example, Command+W closes the front window. Option+Command+W closes all windows for the front application. Shortcuts can be complex. The shortcut in TextEdit for Edit→Paste and Match Style is Option+Shift+Command+V.
- Control: This key’s symbol looks like a hat. The key is pressed in combination with a mouse click to mean right-click.
- Shift: Either the right or left Shift key may be used, but caps lock has no effect on shortcuts that include a Shift key.
- Escape: This key’s symbol looks a lot like the power button icon, but it’s different. The line is at an angle and has a little arrow pointing out. Escape is a shortcut for Cancel in dialog boxes.
Many other Mac keyboard shortcuts exist. Open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences→Keyboard & Mouse and then choose Keyboard Shortcuts to see a list. The Keyboard & Mouse pane has many other options for customizing your input experience.
Shortcuts On Mac Keyboard
If you have difficulty holding down combinations of keys, you can activate the sticky keys feature in the System Preferences→Universal Access pane.