Master 10 must-know Excel shortcuts for Microsoft 365, including Copy, Paste, Find, Replace, Undo, Save and Print. Includes a free practice workbook.

10 Must-Know Excel Shortcuts You’ll Actually Use Every Day

If you use Microsoft Excel regularly, you probably already know a few keyboard shortcuts.

Maybe Ctrl+C for Copy.

Maybe Ctrl+V for Paste.

But here’s the problem: knowing a shortcut exists and actually using it are two completely different things.

I’ve watched plenty of Excel users work with large spreadsheets while constantly moving between the keyboard and mouse. They select something, move to the ribbon, click a command, return to the worksheet, and repeat the process again and again.

None of those individual clicks seems like a big deal.

But when you spend hours in Excel, those tiny interruptions add up.

That’s why I put together these 10 must-know Excel shortcuts. They cover everyday tasks such as copying, finding, replacing, undoing mistakes, saving your workbook and preparing a worksheet for printing.

And rather than simply giving you a list, I’ve also created a free practice workbook so you can try each shortcut yourself.

Note: The shortcuts in this article are primarily for Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows using a US keyboard layout. Microsoft notes that shortcuts can differ across keyboard layouts, Mac, and Excel for the web.

The 10 Excel shortcuts at a glance

Microsoft’s Excel documentation lists Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+A and other commonly used shortcuts among its Excel keyboard shortcuts.

1. Ctrl + C — Copy

Let’s start with the shortcut almost every Excel user should know:

Ctrl + C = Copy

Suppose you have this customer record:

You want to duplicate the record somewhere else.

Instead of:

Select → Home → Copy → navigate → Paste

you can simply:

Select → Ctrl + C

That’s it.

The original information stays where it is, while Excel places a copy on the clipboard ready to paste elsewhere.

Real-world example

Imagine you’re preparing a weekly sales report.

You might need to copy:

• Customer records
• Product information
• Formulas
• Formatting
• Report sections

Instead of repeatedly reaching for the ribbon, use Ctrl+C.

Try it yourself

Open the practice workbook and go to:

01 – Copy

You’ll find a customer dataset and a specific challenge involving Priya Mehta.

Your task is to copy the complete record into the Target Area.

Don’t just read it. Try it.

2. Ctrl + V — Paste

Once you’ve copied something, you’ll need the other half of the workflow.

Ctrl + V = Paste

After pressing Ctrl+C, click your destination cell and press:

Ctrl + V

Your copied information appears there.

This becomes particularly powerful when you combine the two shortcuts:

Ctrl+C → Ctrl+V

Copy something once and reuse it wherever you need it.

Example

You might copy a customer record from one section of a report and paste it into:

• A summary sheet
• A monthly report
• A tracking table
• A presentation-ready section

Practice it

Open:

02 – Paste

Follow the Before → Practice → After exercise.

Try completing the task without reaching for the Paste button

3. Ctrl + X — Cut

Here’s where things get interesting.

Copy keeps the original.

Cut moves it.

Ctrl + X = Cut

Imagine you accidentally placed a customer record in the wrong section.

You don’t want two copies.

You want the original record moved.

Select it and press:

Ctrl + X

Then select the destination and press:

Ctrl + V

The data moves to its new location.

Think of it this way

Ctrl+C

“Make me another copy.”

Ctrl+X

“Move this.”

That distinction becomes incredibly useful when cleaning and reorganizing worksheets.

Practice

Go to:

03 – Cut

Move the designated record into the Priority Orders area.

Then check the Before and After sections.

4. Ctrl + A — Select All

Have you ever dragged your mouse across a huge spreadsheet trying to select everything?

There’s a faster way.

Ctrl + A

When you’re working inside a data region, Ctrl+A can select the current region. Microsoft documents this context-sensitive behavior and notes that pressing it again can expand the selection in certain worksheet contexts.

Why this matters

Imagine a worksheet containing hundreds or thousands of rows.

You might need to:

• Format the data
• Copy it
• Delete it
• Apply a number format
• Review the entire data region

Instead of dragging through the worksheet:

Click inside the data → Ctrl + A

Practice

Open:

04 – Select All

Click inside the dataset.

Press:

Ctrl + A

Then observe what Excel selects.

Small tip

Don’t assume Ctrl+A always means exactly the same visual selection in every context. Excel’s selection behavior depends on where your active cell is and what kind of content you’re working with.

5. Ctrl + F — Find

This is one of my favorite shortcuts when working with large worksheets.

Ctrl + F = Find

Imagine someone sends you a worksheet with 5,000 rows and asks:

“Can you find Vikram Joshi?”

You could scroll.

You could filter.

Or you could press:

Ctrl + F

Type:

Vikram Joshi

and let Excel take you to the matching result.

Microsoft documents Ctrl+F for finding text or numbers in a worksheet and provides additional Find options for searching within a selection, worksheet, or workbook.

You can use Find for things like:

• Employee names
• Customer IDs
• Invoice numbers
• Product names
• Department names
• Specific text
• Numbers

Practice challenge

Open:

05 – Find

Try finding:

Vikram Joshi

Then search for:

Monitor

Finally:

C-1006

No scrolling.

Just search.

6. Ctrl + H — Replace

Now imagine the same problem—but bigger.

You have hundreds of cells containing the wrong version of a word.

For example:

West

needs to become:

WEST

Would you edit every cell manually?

Please don’t.

Ctrl + H = Replace

Press:

Ctrl + H

Excel opens the Find and Replace interface.

Enter:

Find what: West

Replace with: WEST

Then review your settings and choose the appropriate Replace option.

Microsoft specifically documents Ctrl+H for opening Replace and notes that Replace All changes every occurrence matching the search criteria, so checking your search scope and criteria first is important.

Why this shortcut is so useful

Think about correcting:

• Product names
• Department labels
• Abbreviations
• Repeated typos
• Status values
• Standardized terminology

One repeated error can become a one-action cleanup.

Practice

Open:

06 – Replace

Change:

West → WEST

Then check your results.

Pro tip: Don’t blindly click Replace All in a real workbook. First make sure your Find text and scope are correct.

7. Ctrl + Z — Undo

Let’s be honest.

We all make mistakes in Excel. Maybe you deleted something. Maybe you changed formatting.Maybe you moved data somewhere you didn’t intend to.

Before you start rebuilding everything…

Ctrl + Z

This is your Undo shortcut.

Microsoft lists Ctrl+Z as the shortcut for undoing the last action in Excel.

Practice makes this one even more useful

Open:

07 – Undo

Make a harmless formatting change.

Now press:

Ctrl + Z

Watch what happens.

The change is reversed.

A useful habit

Don’t be afraid to experiment in Excel.

When you’re working on a safe copy of a workbook, try something.

If you don’t like the result:

Ctrl + Z

That makes learning much less intimidating.

8. Ctrl + Y — Redo

Here’s a shortcut many people learn only after they discover it by accident.

You just pressed Ctrl+Z.

Then you realize:

“Actually… I wanted that change.”

That’s where Redo comes in.

Ctrl + Y = Redo

Microsoft documents Ctrl+Y as the shortcut for repeating or redoing an action where applicable.

Try this

Open:

08 – Redo

Make the Product column bold.

Press Ctrl + Z.

The formatting disappears.

Press Ctrl + Y.

The formatting comes back.

It’s a simple exercise, but it helps you understand the relationship:

Ctrl + Z → Go back

Ctrl + Y → Bring the action forward again

9. Ctrl + S — Save

This shortcut isn’t flashy.

It won’t create a fancy dashboard.It won’t transform your data.

But it’s one of the habits I strongly recommend building.

Ctrl + S = Save

Microsoft lists Ctrl+S as the Save shortcut in Excel.

Imagine spending two hours cleaning a report.

You’ve:

• Fixed the data
• Added formulas
• Applied formatting
• Built a summary

Then you make one final change.

Saving regularly helps protect your progress.

Make it automatic

After an important change:

Ctrl + S

After completing a section:

Ctrl + S

Before closing your workbook:

Ctrl + S

Practice

Open:

09 – Save

Change one of the practice values.

Press:

Ctrl + S

Then make another change and save again.The goal isn’t to remember the shortcut once.The goal is to build the habit.

10. Ctrl + P — Print

Here’s one people often overlook.

You finish your Excel report.

Everything looks great on your screen.

Then you print it…

And suddenly:

• A column is cut off.
• The page breaks in the wrong place.
• The report is too wide.
• The layout looks terrible.

That’s why you should preview before printing.

Ctrl + P = Print / Print Preview

Microsoft’s Excel documentation confirms that Ctrl+P opens the Print experience, where you can review and adjust print settings before printing.

Practice

Open:

10 – Print

Press:

Ctrl + P

Then check:

• Is the correct worksheet selected?
• Does the data fit?
• Is the orientation appropriate?
• Are the margins reasonable?
• Does the preview look professional?

You don’t even have to print anything.

Just preview it.

The 10 shortcuts worth memorizing

Now let’s put everything together.

Don’t Just Read This — Practice It

This is where I wanted to make this guide different from a typical Excel shortcut list.

Reading ten shortcuts takes a few minutes.

Actually using ten shortcuts is what makes them stick.

So I created a dedicated practice workbook for this article.

📥 Free Excel Shortcut Practice Workbook

Inside you’ll find a dedicated practice sheet for each shortcut:

01 — Copy
02 — Paste
03 — Cut
04 — Select All
05 — Find
06 — Replace
07 — Undo
08 — Redo
09 — Save
10 — Print

Each exercise follows a simple pattern:

Before → Practice → After → Pro Tip → Challenge

So instead of memorizing a shortcut and forgetting it tomorrow, you can actually use it on a small Excel task.

A 10-Minute Excel Shortcut Challenge

Here’s something you can do today.

Set a timer for 10 minutes.

Open the practice workbook and complete all ten exercises.

Round 1

Don’t worry about speed.

Just make sure you use the correct shortcut.

Round 2

Repeat the exercises.

This time, try to reduce your mouse usage.

Round 3

Try to complete each task without looking at the shortcut name.

If you can do that, you’re no longer simply recognizing the shortcut.

You’re beginning to remember it through practice.

What should you learn next?

These ten shortcuts are a great starting point, but they’re only the beginning.

Once these become automatic, the next group worth learning includes shortcuts for:

• Navigation
• Tables
• Filtering
• Formatting
• Formulas
• Filling data
• Working with rows and columns
• Paste Special
• Worksheets
• Data analysis

Microsoft’s current Excel shortcut reference covers these areas along with Ribbon KeyTips, function keys, Power Pivot, Copilot and Excel for the web.

That’s where you start moving from knowing Excel shortcuts to developing a genuinely keyboard-first workflow.

Final Thought

You don’t need to memorize 200 shortcuts this weekend.

Start with ten.

Ctrl + C.
Ctrl + V.
Ctrl + X.
Ctrl + A.
Ctrl + F.
Ctrl + H.
Ctrl + Z.
Ctrl + Y.
Ctrl + S.
Ctrl + P.

Use them repeatedly until your hands start reaching for the keyboard automatically.

Because the real benefit of Excel shortcuts isn’t knowing a long list of key combinations.

It’s getting to the point where you’re working on your spreadsheet…

…and the shortcut happens before you even think about it.