Excel Basics · Interactive lesson 12 of 12

Navigation & shortcuts

None of these need to be memorized up front — they're worth picking up naturally, one at a time, while doing ordinary work. This page is a reference to come back to, plus one shortcut worth trying right now.

BeginnerInteractive

Screens shown: Excel for Microsoft 365 for Windows. Practice works in any browser.

Written tutorialExcel Navigation and Keyboard Shortcuts

Skill check

Try these first:

  • Copy and paste a cell using only the keyboard.
  • Undo a change, then jump to the last cell of your data with Ctrl+End.
  • Select an entire table with Ctrl+A and AutoSum a column with Alt+=.

Comfortable already? You've completed the Basic track — see the real-world exercise below.

Teach

Shortcuts worth knowing

Ctrl+CCopy the selected cell(s).
Ctrl+VPaste.
Ctrl+XCut — copy and remove in one step.
Ctrl+ZUndo the last action.
Ctrl+SSave the workbook.
Ctrl+FFind a value anywhere on the sheet.
Ctrl+ASelect every cell in use on the sheet.
Ctrl+ArrowJump to the far edge of the current block of data.
Ctrl+TConvert the selected range into an Excel Table (M8).
Alt+=AutoSum — guesses the range above or to the left and inserts SUM automatically.
F2Edit the selected cell in place, instead of overwriting it.
Tip: Ctrl+Home jumps straight to A1 from anywhere, and Ctrl+End jumps to the last cell that actually has data in it — the fastest way to check how big a sheet really is.

Where to find it in Excel

Keyboard›Home › Editing

Swipe sideways to see the whole window.

  1. 1AutoSum is the button behind Alt+=.
  2. 2Find & Select is Ctrl+F; Go To is Ctrl+G.
  3. 3Type an address in the Name Box and press Enter to jump there.
  4. 4Select numbers to see their sum, average and count in the status bar.

Rendered view of Excel for Microsoft 365 (Windows). Ribbon layout can differ slightly on Mac, Excel for the web or a narrow window.

Guided practice

Click the empty target cell, then either click the button below or actually press Alt+= on your keyboard.

➕ AutoSum — select the target cell, then Alt+=
Click the highlighted total cell below the numbers, then press the button — or your actual Alt+= key.

Real-world exercise — capstone

Personal Monthly Budget

This single exercise touches nearly everything in the Basic track — a good way to check what actually stuck:

  1. Enter the data — categories, budgeted amounts, and actual spending.
  2. Format the headings (M2).
  3. Format the numbers as currency (M3).
  4. Calculate Budget − Actual for each category (M4).
  5. Copy that formula down the whole column (M6).
  6. Calculate the total budget with SUM (M5).
  7. Calculate total actual spending with SUM (M5).
  8. Find average spending with AVERAGE (M5).
  9. Sort the categories by actual spending (M7).
  10. Create a chart from the result (M9).

Work through it independently, start to finish — that's the real test of the whole track.

Spot a mistake or have an idea for this lesson? Send feedback