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The Best Navigation Related Keyboard Shortcuts for Microsoft Excel

    The guide on this page shows you the best keyboard shortcuts for navigation 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.


    CTRL+ PgUp or PgDn

    • (Control + Page Up or Page Down)
    • Moves from one sheet to the next one (or back) in the workbook

    ALT + PgUp or PgDn

    • (ALT + Page Up or Page Down)
    • Moves from left or right within the worksheet

    CTRL + Arrow keys

    • (Control + Up, Down, Left, or Right key)
    • Brings you to the next continuous space or data cell.

    CTRL+ Shift + Arrow keys

    • (Control + Shift + Up, Down, Left, or Right key)
    • Brings you to the next continuous space or data cell, while also highlighting any included cells

    CTRL + Home

    • Move to the very beginning cell of the worksheet.

    CTRL + G

    • Opens the Go To menu so you can move between sheets

    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.

    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.