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Top 20 Google Sheets Shortcuts

Google Sheets Shortcuts

In this article, you're going to learn about the most commonly used Google Sheets shortcuts for saving your time.

Why use Google Sheets Shortcuts

Google Sheets provides a number of shortcuts for our ease. You'll be surprised to learn that many of the tasks we do on a daily basis can be sped up by using keyboard shortcuts. This article is best suited for those who are migrating from Windows to Mac or from Mac to Windows because it covers shortcuts in both Mac and Windows. The article will help you get acquainted with some top Google Sheets Shortcuts which are used most frequently.

1. Jump to the Last Cell with Data in a Column

  • Let’s say you are working with a large dataset and you want to jump to the last row or the last cell containing data in a column. You can easily perform this task by using the following shortcut:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Jump to the last cell with data

Ctrl + ↓

⌘ + ↓

2. Select Entire Selected Row or Column

  • Let’s say you are working with a large dataset and you want to select a specific row or a column, of a selected cell. Instead of manually selecting, Google Sheets provides the following shortcut for ease of operation:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Select Entire Row

Ctrl + Shift + →

⌘ + Shift + →

Select Entire Column

Ctrl + Shift + ↓

⌘ + Shift + ↓

3. Paste Only Values Or Paste Only Format

  • While working on Google Sheets, you want to extract numbers or text from cells only, without formulas and formatting.
  • Google Sheets provides a shortcut with which you can only paste values, without changing the formatting in the cell.
  • Similarly, if you want to just extract formatting without values, Google Sheets provides a shortcut wherein you can only paste the format, without changing the values in the cell.

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Paste Only Values

Ctrl + Shift + V

⌘ + Shift + V

Paste Only Format

Ctrl + ALT + V

⌘ + ALT + V

4. Insert Rows or Columns

  • While working on Google Sheets, you might want to insert a row above or below the currently selected row.
  • Similarly, you might want to add a column left or right of the currently selected column.
  • Google Sheets provides keyboard shortcuts for all these functions:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Insert Row Above

Alt+I, then R (Chrome) or Alt+Shift+I,

then R (Other browsers)

control+option+I,

then R

Insert Row Below

Alt+I, then W (Chrome) or Alt+Shift+I,

then W (Other browsers)

control+option+I,

then W

Insert Column

to Left

Alt+I, then C (Chrome) or Alt+Shift+I,

then C (Other browsers)

control+option+I,

then C

Insert Column

to Right

Alt+I, then O (Chrome) or Alt+Shift+I,

then O (Other browsers):

control+option+I,

then O

5. Select Entire Row or Column

  • If you want to select the entire row or column that you are working on, irrespective of whether cells contain any data or not, use the following shortcut:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Select Entire Row

Shift + Space

Shift + Space

Select Entire Column

Ctrl + Space

⌘ + Space

6. Fill Down or Fill Right Value or Formula

  • While working on Google Sheets, you might want to use the value or formula used in a cell, in a cell below or right to it.
  • Instead of manually copy-pasting it every time, Google Sheets provides the following keyboard shortcuts:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Fill Down

Ctrl + D

⌘ + D

Fill Right

Ctrl + R

⌘ + R

7. Delete Rows or Columns

  • While working on Google Sheets, you might want to delete rows or columns which are unnecessary in the dataset.
  • Instead of manually selecting the entire row or column and deleting it, use:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Delete Rows

Alt + E, then D (Chrome) or

Alt + Shift + E, then D

control + option + E, then D

Delete Columns

Alt + E, then E (Chrome) or

Alt + Shift + E, then E

control + option + E, then E

8. Clear Formatting in Cells

  • You might want to have different formatting for different cells in a row or column. To remove the existing formatting, use the following shortcut:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Clear Formatting

Ctrl + \

⌘ + \

9. Navigate through Sheets using Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • While working on Google Sheets, there are high chances that you would be working on multiple sheets of a workbook.
  • Since you cannot have a view of multiple sheets in a single frame, you would usually navigate through sheets. Instead of manually doing it, use the following shortcuts:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Move to the next sheet

Alt +↓

option + ↓

Move to the previous sheet

Alt + ↑

option + ↑

10. Changing between Absolute, Relative and Mixed Cell References

  • While using formulas in Google Sheets, you might want different cell referencing for different cells.
  • If you copy the cell value and paste it to another cell, the referencing will also be copied.
  • To change the cell referencing, use the following shortcut:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Changing Cell Reference

F4

fn + F4

11. Open drop-down menu on filtered cell

  • If you want to filter your dataset based on specific columns, you can use the Filter option provided by Google Sheets.
  • You can filter the dataset based on multiple values, mentioned in the drop-down menu of the Filter option.
  • Instead of manually looking for the filter option, you can use the following shortcut to open the drop-down menu on the filtered cell and change the criteria

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Open drop-down menu on filtered cell

Ctrl + Alt + R

control + ⌘ + R

12. Display all formulas used in Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • While working on Google Sheets, you would use multiple formulas for performing various operations.
  • It would be a tedious task to manually select each cell to view the formula used on it.
  • To simplify this process, you can use the following shortcut to display all formulas used in the sheet:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Display all formulas used

Ctrl + ~

control + ~

13. Display All Sheets in the Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • While working on Google Sheets, you might have a particular workbook containing a lot of worksheets.
  • Since you cannot view all of them at once, you can use the following Google Sheet shortcut to have a list of all the sheets inside the workbook.
  • You can select the sheet you want to work on directly by clicking on the sheet from the list.

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Display all formulas used

Alt + Shift + K

option + shift + K

14. Hide Rows or Columns

  • If you have a particular column or row, which you do not want to have in your view, you can hide it.
  • By doing so, you can keep only those columns or rows you want to be displayed.
  • You can unhide them anytime to have the original view.
  • The following shortcut helps you in hiding columns or rows.

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Hide Row

Ctrl + Alt + 9

⌘ + option + 9

Hide Column

Ctrl + Alt + 0

⌘ + option + 0

Unhide Row

Ctrl + Shift + 9

⌘ + Shift + 9

Unhide Column

Ctrl + Shift + 0

⌘ + Shift + 0

15. Insert Date and Time Shortcuts In Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • If you feel the need of adding the current date or current time to a cell, you can use the following shortcut:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Insert Current Date

Ctrl + ;

⌘ + 0

Insert Current Time

Ctrl + Shift + ;

⌘ + Shift + ;

16. Cell Alignment Shortcut In Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • If you input any data in a cell, it generally is left aligned.
  • You can change the alignment of data to left, right or centre in Google Sheets.
  • To save your time, there are keyboard shortcuts for these operations, as shown below:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Left Align

Ctrl + Shift + L

⌘ + Shift + L

Centre Align

Ctrl + Shift + E

⌘ + Shift + E

Right Align

Ctrl + Shift + R

⌘ + Shift + R

17. Scroll to Active Cell

  • While working on Google Sheets, there might be a time while scrolling down, that you would want to scroll back to the active cell ( i.e. selected cell)
  • However, if the dataset is huge, scrolling up or down to the active cell would take some time.
  • To save your time, use the following shortcut:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Scroll to Active Cell

Ctrl + Backspace

⌘ + delete

18. Formatting the Text (Bold, Underline and Italic)

  • If you want to change the formatting of text in a cell or a column, i.e. make the text Bold, or Underline or make it Italic, Google sheets provide the following shortcuts:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Bold

Ctrl + B

⌘ + B

Underline

Ctrl + U

⌘ + U

Italic

Ctrl + I

⌘ + I

19. Apply Borders in Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • If you want to apply borders to a particular cell, without using menu options, use the following shortcuts to speed the process:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Apply Top Border

Alt + Shift + 1

option + shift + 1

Apply Right Border

Alt + Shift + 2

option + shift + 2

Apply Bottom Border

Alt + Shift + 3

option + shift + 3

Apply Left Border

Alt + Shift + 4

option + shift + 4

20. Format Numbers in Google Sheets Shortcuts

  • If you want to format numbers in a cell, i.e. as decimal, or time or currency, use the following shortcuts:

In PC (Windows)

In Mac

Format as Decimal

Ctrl + Shift + 1

control + shift + 1

Format as Time

Ctrl + Shift + 2

control + shift + 2

Format as Date

Ctrl + Shift + 3

control + shift + 3

Format as Currency

Ctrl + Shift + 4

control + shift + 4

Format as Percentage

Ctrl + Shift + 5

control + shift + 5

Format as Exponent

Ctrl + Shift + 6

control + shift + 6
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