Microsoft Excel has a lot of moving parts… assuming you know how to move them, of course. It can be overwhelming to learn all the formal formatting measures if you do not have a lot of time. For this week’s tip, we’re going over a few shortcuts to help you make the best use of some of these parts. Here are some of the best formatting shortcuts for Excel.
Excel Formatting Shortcuts
Align
Perhaps the most basic Excel formatting of all, it can help to distinguish between your data to have different values aligned to the cell in different ways.
- To center the value within the cell, press Alt+H+A+C.
- To align the value within the cell to the left, press Alt+H+A+L.
- To align the value within the cell to the right, press Alt+H+A+R.
Specific Formatting
Oftentimes, the contents of your spreadsheet will require certain formatting in order to properly communicate their significance. If not corresponded correctly, you’ll have troubles with your project later on. You can assign this formatting for different data types with the following shortcuts:
- To return your value to general formatting, press Ctrl+Shift+~.
- To indicate that a value refers to currency, press Ctrl+Shift+$.
- To format a value as a percentage, press Ctrl+Shift+%.
- To properly format a date, press Ctrl+Shift+#.
- To format a value in scientific terms, press Ctrl+Shift+^.
- To ensure that a number is properly formatted, press Ctrl+Shift+!.
- To properly format time, press Ctrl+Shift+@.
Applying Borders to Your Excel Format
Borders can come in handy on a spreadsheet, as they give the differences between values more pronunciation. Especially if you are sharing these files with others, it helps visually display the information. Use the following shortcuts to apply borders to a selected cell:
- To cut to the chase and apply a border to all of a cell’s edges, press Ctrl+Shift+A.
- To only add a borderline to the right edge of a cell, press Alt+R.
- To add a border to the left edge of a cell, press Alt+L.
- To put a border on the top edge of a cell, press Alt+T.
- To apply a border to the bottom edge of a cell, press Alt+B.
- To easily remove the borders from a cell, press Ctrl+Shift+_.
Appearance
Okay, maybe this is the most basic Excel formatting, as these formatting needs can appear in essentially every Microsoft document you create, including your spreadsheets. These shortcuts should seem very familiar:
- To have your data appear in a bold font, press Ctrl+B.
- To type in italics, press Ctrl+I.
- To underline the contents of a cell, press Ctrl+U.
- To strikethrough the contents of a cell, press Ctrl+S.
We hope that this list list of formatting shortcuts for excel comes in handy. We suggest printing it out so it can be easily accessible when needed. Are there any other programs that you’d like to know more shortcuts to? Leave a few suggestions in the comments! If you need any IT support with software, from excel to anything else, check out our enterprise solutions page and reach out to us.
