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Let’s be honest, work isn’t always a walk in the park. There are often times when our to-do lists just keep growing and growing and no matter how hard we try to tick things off, something else comes to fill its place.
It can be hard to stay motivated when it feels like no matter what you do, and no matter how hard you try, the list just isn’t going down.
So wouldn’t it be ACE if on those days, when it all feels a bit too much, there were ways to half the effort needed to get through your work and feel like you’re getting somewhere?
Sitting over in the bottom left and right corners of your keyboard are the Ctrl keys. These keys are interesting because, on their own, they don’t do anything… but that’s because they’re modifier keys.
That means that when you press the Ctrl key in conjunction with another key, it performs a special operation and enhances the functions of other keys.
You’ve probably used them from time to time on simple tasks, but today I’m going to show you they can streamline your Excel usage, speed up your tasks and make your spreadsheets come to life in just a simple press of a button.
I’ve put together a list of 12 of my favourite uses for your Ctrl key, so you can use this article as a quick reference guide when it comes to Excel. All of these Ctrl key shortcuts are guaranteed to streamline your work and help you use Excel with more efficiency.
Let’s start with an easy one – these Ctrl key shortcuts are probably the most common, so you might have used them before. Even though they might be common, they’re still super helpful when it comes to managing and organising your sheets.
So, picture this: You’ve crafted the perfect formula or text block, and now you want to duplicate it across a bunch of cells.
What should you do?
Use Ctrl + C to copy, Ctrl + X to cut, and Ctrl + V to paste your formula or text block wherever you need it across your sheets.
Whether you need it simply for style or because you want to make something stand out on your sheets, the bolding text is a helpful formatting feature.
But isn’t it such a pain having to drag your mouse up to the Bold button all the time?
Well, you don’t have to. All you need to do to make text bold in the blink of an eye is highlight it and then press Ctrl + B.
Imagine this – you’re just about to head into a meeting and a colleague asks if you can bring along a copy of the data you’ve collected to share.
You need to get it off your screen and into your hands quickly. So what should you do?
Ctrl + P will swiftly open the Print dialog box for you so that you can put your spreadsheets onto paper fast.
There’s nothing worse than working on a masterpiece of a spreadsheet for hours only for Excel to have a wobble and crash, deleting all of your hard work.
The thought of having to start over is enough to make you want to give up and log off.
With Ctrl + S you can easily save your work as you go, making sure that your sheets are saved and protected from any unexpected interference. Saving early and often will spare you a lot of trouble! (That is if you don’t have ‘Autosave’ enabled of course)
Working with dates is common practice in Excel.
Whether you’re creating a Gantt chart for effortless project management, tracking your expenses, or making a list of colleagues’ birthdays so you don’t get caught out when a collection comes round to get them a present, being able to add dates to your sheets easily is a must!
Use the Ctrl + ; shortcut to insert the current date into a selected cell, without having to type a thing. This is not a formula, so will always remain constant too.
BONUS TIP: You can also use Ctrl + Shift + ; to insert the current time into a selected cell.
Need to duplicate a sheet? By this point, you’re probably unsurprised to hear that there’s an ACE way to do that using the Ctrl key.
Simply hold down the Ctrl key and grab the sheet tab you want to duplicate (by holding down the left mouse), then drag it where you want to place it and release.
Copying sheets has never been so effortless (or quick).
If you work with labyrinthine spreadsheets regularly, you’ve probably found yourself lost among your data once or twice (I know I have). If this happens to you, don’t worry – there’s an easy way to find your way back to the beginning.
Ctrl + Arrow keys make navigating your sheets easy and will take you back to the top, bottom, left or right of your sheet.
Press Ctrl + the arrow key for the direction you want to go, and you’ll zip to the edge of your data range.
It’s like teleportation for your cursor – now if only we could master teleporting for humans too!
Do you need to display your data in a nice, clean and easy-to-read table?
Select your data, press Ctrl + T, and Excel will display the Create Table dialogue box, allowing you to transform your data into a sleek, sortable, and filterable table – A must for every spreadsheet aesthetician.
Watch this space for a Blog coming soon on Tables!
Need to select everything? I’ve got news, you don’t have to click and drag to select your whole sheet, just use Ctrl + A.
Press it once, and all your data is highlighted, ready for your next command. It’s the ultimate shortcut for those who enjoy a one-click wonder!
This will only include cells that are “connected” too, so if there is an empty column or row, it will be excluded. This is perfect if you have different “islands” of data on one sheet, as they can each be selected individually.
Sometimes, searching for one particular piece of information in a spreadsheet can feel a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Ctrl + F is an ACE way to find a specific piece of information. This shortcut will open the Find dialog box which will enable you to input the text or number you want to search and will navigate you straight to it.
This shortcut will also help you find multiple instances of the same text or numbers throughout your sheet and allow you to navigate between them.
BONUS TIP: If you switch to the replace tab in the Find dialog box you can find AND replace values instantly. If there are multiple instances you can choose to replace just one or all, saving you from having to visit each instance to update it.
Need to link to another sheet or an external document?
Press Ctrl + K, to open the Hyperlink dialog box. This dialog box allows you to connect cells to relevant information, whether that’s a document, a website, or even another sheet.
It’s like building bridges between your data islands.
Finally, have you ever made a mistake and wished you could go back in time?
Well, Ctrl + Z allows you to time travel by going back and undoing the last action you took. You can keep hitting the Ctrl + Z button as many times as you want to go as far back as you like.
If you take a step too far back in time, don’t panic, just press Ctrl + Y to redo your last action.
One last thing to mention is that it doesn’t matter which Ctrl key you use (left or right), they both achieve the same functionality. The main reason for there being two keys is to save you from stretching your fingers when using the Ctrl Key with other keys.
So there you have it – a brief journey into the versatile world of Ctrl key shortcuts.
These commands are the unsung heroes of Excel efficiency. When you start using them regularly you’ll suddenly find that navigating and editing your sheets becomes so much quicker and easier.
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