Formatting shortcuts in Excel
Ctrl+1 (Cmd+1) opens Format Cells, where every format lives. The Ctrl+Shift number formats apply currency, percent and date in one press on both platforms. Excel for the web uses Ctrl+Shift with a digit instead of the symbol.
Checked against Microsoft's official lists on . Where Microsoft lists a key for one platform only, the other column says so instead of guessing.
Learn these first
| Shortcut | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open Format Cells How to: Merge cells shortcut in Excel Every number, date, alignment, border and protection option in one dialog. | Ctrl+1 | Command+1 or Control+1 |
| Currency format with 2 decimals How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more Negatives show in parentheses; Microsoft's Mac list adds that they show in red. | Ctrl+Shift+$Web Ctrl+Shift+4 | Control+Shift+$ |
| Percentage format with no decimals How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more 0.25 shows as 25%. A 25 typed before formatting shows as 2500%. | Ctrl+Shift+%Web Ctrl+Shift+5 | Control+Shift+% |
| Strikethrough How to: Strikethrough shortcut in Excel | Ctrl+5 | Shift+Command+X |
Step-by-step shortcut guides
All formatting shortcuts
| Shortcut | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open Format Cells How to: Merge cells shortcut in Excel Every number, date, alignment, border and protection option in one dialog. | Ctrl+1 | Command+1 or Control+1 |
| Open Format Cells on the Font tabNot in Microsoft's Mac list. On a Mac, Cmd+Shift+F turns filters on or off. | Ctrl+Shift+F | —No Mac shortcut in Microsoft's list |
| Bold | Ctrl+B or Ctrl+2 | Command+B or Control+B |
| Italic | Ctrl+I or Ctrl+3 | Command+I or Control+I |
| UnderlineOn a Mac, Ctrl+U edits the cell instead. | Ctrl+U or Ctrl+4 | Command+U |
| Strikethrough How to: Strikethrough shortcut in Excel | Ctrl+5 | Shift+Command+X |
| Add an outline border around the selection | Ctrl+Shift+&Web Ctrl+Shift+& or Ctrl+Shift+7 | Command+Option+0 |
| Remove the outline border | Ctrl+Shift+_ | Command+Option+- |
| Center the cell contents How to: Merge cells shortcut in Excel | Alt+H, A, C | Command+E |
| Align leftNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's list | Command+L |
| Increase the font sizeNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's listWeb Ctrl+Shift+> | Shift+Command+> |
| Decrease the font sizeNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's listWeb Ctrl+Shift+< | Shift+Command+< |
| Open Modify Cell StyleNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's list | Shift+Command+L |
Borders
| Shortcut | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Add a border on the right of the selectionNot in Microsoft's Windows list. On Windows, Alt+H, B opens the Borders menu. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's list | Command+Option+Right arrow |
| Add a border on the left of the selectionNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's list | Command+Option+Left arrow |
| Add a border on the top of the selectionNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's list | Command+Option+Up arrow |
| Add a border on the bottom of the selectionNot in Microsoft's Windows list. | —No Windows shortcut in Microsoft's list | Command+Option+Down arrow |
Number formats
| Shortcut | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| General number format How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more | Ctrl+Shift+~ | Control+Shift+~ |
| Number format: 2 decimals, thousands separator, minus sign for negatives How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more | Ctrl+Shift+!Web Ctrl+Shift+1 | Control+Shift+! |
| Currency format with 2 decimals How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more Negatives show in parentheses; Microsoft's Mac list adds that they show in red. | Ctrl+Shift+$Web Ctrl+Shift+4 | Control+Shift+$ |
| Percentage format with no decimals How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more 0.25 shows as 25%. A 25 typed before formatting shows as 2500%. | Ctrl+Shift+%Web Ctrl+Shift+5 | Control+Shift+% |
| Date format with day, month and year How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more | Ctrl+Shift+#Web Ctrl+Shift+3 | Control+Shift+# |
| Time format with hour, minute and AM/PM How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more | Ctrl+Shift+@Web Ctrl+Shift+2 | Control+Shift+@ |
| Scientific format with 2 decimals How to: Number format shortcuts in Excel: currency, percent, date and more | Ctrl+Shift+^Web Ctrl+Shift+6 | Control+Shift+^ |
Why a shortcut sometimes does nothing
Non-US keyboards
Microsoft's lists are written for the US keyboard layout and say that keys on other layouts might not correspond exactly. Shortcuts named after a symbol, such as Ctrl+;, Ctrl+` or Ctrl+Shift+$, are the ones most likely to sit somewhere else or not work. When one does nothing, use the ribbon route on its task page instead.
KeyTips change with the language
Alt sequences such as Alt+H, O, I are ribbon KeyTips: press Alt and the letters appear on screen. They come from the English ribbon. In another language, or when an add-in adds a tab, the letters can differ, so read them off the screen rather than memorizing them.
Excel for the web: the browser takes some keys
In a browser, a few keys belong to the browser first: F1 opens the browser's help, Ctrl+O opens a file, Ctrl+W closes the tab, and F6 moves around the browser. Excel for the web uses Ctrl+F6 instead of F6, Ctrl+Alt+Page Down for the next sheet in Chrome, and Alt+Windows key with a letter for ribbon tabs. To get desktop behavior back, go to Help > Keyboard Shortcuts and select Override browser shortcuts. If the file opened in Viewing mode, editing shortcuts do nothing until you switch to Editing.
Related guides
- Excel percentage format wrong? How to fix itExcel stores a percentage as a fraction: 15% is 0.15.
- Excel date format not changing? Why, and how to fix itA number format only changes how a number looks, and real Excel dates are numbers.
- How to combine text with numbers and dates in ExcelWrap the number or date in TEXT with a format code when you join it to text: ="Revenue: "&TEXT(B2,"$#,##0") or ="Due "&TEXT(D2,"mmmm d, yyyy").
Related functions
In the glossary: Number formatCustom number formatMerged cells