Moving Around Excel – Do you know these shortcuts?

Moving around your spreadsheet can be a pain in the neck, depending on how far you need to move, let me share a few tips to speed you up!

We all know that you can move around a spreadsheet using your mouse – simply click on the cell that you want to move to.

But, of course this is a Microsoft product, and we all know that one method just isn’t enough…

Simple (and obvious) methods

Let’s get these out of the way…

Mouse/Scroll Bars

I’ve already mentioned using the mouse to click on a cell to move/select it.

Hopefully, I don’t need to mention that you can use the scroll bars (on the right and at the bottom) to move the sheet in a direction to allow you to click on any cell.

Direction Keys

And of course the other obvious option – the direction keys.

They move you one cell in the direction that you choose – Left, Right, Up or Down.

As I’m sure you know, pressing and holding them down “whizzes” in the direction that you chose.

Home and End Keys

If you haven’t really noticed them before, there are two keys called Home and End on your keyboard.

Where they are can be slightly different, depending on the computer you use – full external keyboard (desktop or laptop), built-in keyboard (laptop), or compact keyboard (Mac, portable keyboard).

However, when you find them (and they are somewhere) then they offer some are useful options when you need them.

Home Key

What it does: Moves you to Column A, while staying in the selected row.

How to use it: Click in any cell, that’s not in column A, and press the Home key.

Doesn’t sound ‘amazing’, but if you’re entering a lot of data, use it on the next line to quickly move to start at the beginning of the row.

End Key

What it does: Moves you to the last cell with data in it.

How to use it: Press the End button (it will show ‘End Mode’ on the Status Bar), then press the arrow in the direction you want to move.

What’s the end of the data?

It’s a good question to ask, as some of these shortcuts take you to the end…

When you’re talking about the end of your data, a spreadsheet defines it as the last cell with information in, before a blank line.

In this example, the data ends at row 23 – because row 24 is blank.

However, if you’re already at the end of your data – then the ‘end’ is the last cell of your spreadsheet.

Moving around with CTRL Keys

The next group of shortcuts use the CTRL Key.

Mac users – replace CTRL with the CMD (Command) key.

GoTo

If you know the cell address that you want to select, then the GoTo command will take you there immediately.

What it does: Move you to a specific cell address.

How to use it: Press CTRL + G to open the dialog box. Type in the cell address and press Return.

Not sure about you, but I don’t usually remember the cell address that I need to move to, so I don’t use it very often.

CTRL + Home

One of the most useful shortcuts to know about moving around, is definitely CTRL + Home!

What it does: Moves you to cell A1.

How to use it: Press CTRL + Home.

CTRL + End

Occasionally this option has it’s moments, but remember what’s defined as the end of your data.

What it does: Move you to the last cell of your data range (i.e. bottom right)

How to use it: Press CTRL + End

Final Tip

As well as moving around your spreadsheet, these can be used to also select cells…

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