Short cut keys for selecting areas in Excel

Today’s tip sheet explains some of the keyboard short cuts in MS-Excel.

These short cuts will assist you to select content in your worksheet rather than dragging your mouse around.

1. You may already know and use this one.  [Ctrl + A] to select the entire worksheet (16,384 columns x 1,048,576 rows).
2. Trying to check for blank rows or blank columns in a table (or list)? Click on any cell in the table and press [Ctrl + Shift + *].
   Tip: If the area selected is larger than what you can see on the screen try using the zoom feature (bottom right corner – “Fit selection”) to check the whole area you have selected.
3. To select an entire column in a worksheet, click on any cell in that column then press [Ctrl + Spacebar]
4. Similarly, [Shift + Spacebar] will select an entire row in a worksheet.
5. The keyboard combination of [Ctrl + Shift + End] is great for selecting everything from your current cell to the last cell in the worksheet.

Note: When I use the + symbol between keys, this means hold down the first (and sometimes second) key before pressing the last key.

All of these short cuts work in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. If you are using a Mac, replace the Ctrl key with the Command key.

If you are unsure of how any of these tips work, watch our video on how to use these short cut keys.

If you find these tips helpful, check our last tip sheet – Short cut keys for formatting documents in MS-Word.