The Best Movement Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft Excel (2022)

The guide on this page shows you the best movement shortcuts for getting around in Microsoft Excel without the need for a mouse so you can work more efficiently – movement is key in Excel!

There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts in Excel that all perform different functions – like formulas, pasting special, or bringing up menus.

When you’re looking for a specific group of shortcuts – like navigating through the cells or sheets of Excel – it might be hard to find the related functions.   

We put together this guide to try and consolidate related keyboard shortcuts into a specific category so you can quickly learn a specific set of some of the best options.

What are keyboard shortcuts

It might seem obvious and you’re probably already familiar, but JUST in case, a keyboard shortcut is a quick method that allows you to perform a function on your computer with the press of a set of buttons.

One of the most common and well-known shortcuts would be the Find function, CTRL + F.

This means that you press the CTRL key and the F key at the same time on your PC, and then the Find function appears in any application – like a web browser or Microsoft Word.

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Move from one sheet to the next one (or back) in the workbook

• CTRL+ PgUp or PgDn
• (Control + Page Up or Page Down)

Move from left or right within the worksheet

• ALT + PgUp or PgDn
• (ALT + Page Up or Page Down)

Jump to the next continuous space or data cell

• CTRL + Arrow keys
• (Control + Up, Down, Left, or Right key)

Move to the next continuous space or data cell, while highlighting any included cells

• CTRL+ Shift + Arrow keys
• (Control + Shift + Up, Down, Left, or Right key)

Move to the very beginning cell of the worksheet

• CTRL + Home

Open the Go To menu (to move between sheets)

• CTRL + G

Open the menu / ribbon key shortcuts

• ALT + followed by a key
• (Alt, then press any key in the menu/ribbon that appears)
• When you press Alt, Letters/Numbers appear next to items in the menu. See the screenshot below.
• If you press the letter, it opens that menu, and then subsequent numbers appear for more key commands.
• This lets you navigate the menu with keys.

Navigate between PC Windows

• Alt + Tab
• This shortcut isn’t specific to Excel but it’s very helpful.
• This lets you navigate between windows on your PC.
• Press Tab again to keep moving through the open windows.
• This is helpful when you’re typing and want to quickly move to another open window without using your mouse.