If you're used to working with Excel on Windows, one of the most confusing aspects of using Excel on a Mac is shortcuts. Even basic shortcuts you've been using for years in Windows may not work as you expect. After a few problems, you might wind up thinking that Mac shortcuts are 'totally different' or somehow 'broken'. In reality, Excel shortcuts on the Mac are quite capable, you just have to understand and adjust to certain differences.

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In this article, I'll walk you through the key differences you need to be aware of to work productively with Excel shortcuts on a Mac. Also see: // 3 minute video 1. Special symbols One of more confusing aspects of keyboard shortcuts on the Mac are the symbols you'll see for certain keys.

For example, the Command key is abbreviated as ⌘, the Control key with ⌃, and the option key as ⌥. These symbols have a long history on the Mac, and you'll find them in menus everywhere. The Mac Finder – abbreviations appear in all applications, not just Excel You'll see these symbols in menus across all applications, so they're not specific to Excel. There really aren't too many symbols, so I recommend that you bite the bullet and memorize them. The table below shows some example shortcuts with a translation. Command Shortcut Translation New workbook ⌘N Command N Save As ⌘⇧S Command Shift S Toggle ribbon ⌘⌥R Command Option R Paste Special ⌃⌘V Control Command V Select row ⇧Space Shift Space 2.

Function keys Like their counterparts in the Windows world, Mac keyboards have function keys. These keys sit at the top of the keyboard and are labeled F1 to F12 on standard keyboards and F13, F14 and higher on extended keyboards. Standard Mac keyboard with 12 function keys As you know, function keys are uses for many shortcuts in Excel. For example, you can use F1 for help, F7 for spelling, and shift + F3 to insert a function. But if you try these shortcuts directly on a Mac, they don't work. By default, Function keys on a Mac control the computer itself, things like screen brightness, volume, video pause and play, and so on. This means that if press only the function keys in Excel, you'll end up controlling the Mac, and not Excel.

To make function keys work like you expect in Excel, you need to add a key: the function or fn key. You'll find the fn key in the lower left on your keyboard. Here are a few examples: Command Windows Mac New chart F11 fn F11 Calculate worksheets F9 fn F9 Open Spelling F7 fn F7 Evaluate formula F9 fn F9 If you really hate using the fn key, you can change this behavior by changing a preference at System Preferences Keyboard.

Here you can check a box that will that will change function key behavior to work like 'standard function keys'. If you do this, however, note that you won't be able to use function keys for things like Brightness, Volume, etc. Unless you hold down the fn key.

In essence, this setting reverses behavior so that you need to use fn to control the Mac. Personally, I like using the function keys to control the computer, so I leave this setting alone, and just the fn key when needed in Excel. Missing keys Another difference that may trip you up on a Mac is certain keys are missing. Unless you're using an extended keyboard, keys like Home, End, backspace, Page up, and Page down are nowhere to be found. This is a problem, because many of these keys are used in Excel shortcuts. The solution is to use specific substitutions, as shown in the table below. Windows Mac equivalent Home fn arrow left End fn arrow right Page Up fn arrow up Page Down fn arrow down Screen right fn option arrow down Screen left fn option arrow up Move to Last cell fn control arrow right Move to first cell fn control arrow left Delete fn Delete Backspace Delete The substitutions let you perform the same actions you can do in Windows.

However, T hey can make some shortcuts seem complicated on a Mac because you have to use more keys. Note: If you're using an extended keyboard on a Mac, you don't need to worry about substitutions, since you'll have keys for Home, End, Page up, etc. Extended keyboards have all the keys 4. Ribbon shortcuts In the world of shortcuts, perhaps the most painful difference on a Mac is a lack of ribbon shortcuts.

In Excel on Windows, you can use so called accelerator keys to access almost every command in Excel using only your keyboard. This doesn't matter much when you're performing an action that has a dedicated shortcut (i.e. Control + B for bold), since dedicated shortcuts are faster than ribbon shortcuts. But when you want to trigger an action that doesn't have a dedicated shortcut (like sort, hide gridlines, align text, etc.), it hurts a bit. Excel ribbon in Windows with accelerator keys visible. No equivalent on the Mac!

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Just different Finally, some Excel shortcuts are just plain different on a Mac. For example, the shortcut for Edit Cell in Windows is F2, and on a Mac, it's Control + U. The shortcut to toggle absolute and relative references is F4 in Windows, while on a Mac, its Command T. For a complete list of Windows and Mac shortcuts, see. If you want to see more Excel shortcuts for the Mac in action, see our our. These videos come from our.

Whenever we use a shortcut, we show both the Windows and Mac version. Excel 2016/Office 365 With the introduction of Excel 2016 on the Mac, Microsoft has started to adjust Mac shortcuts to be more aligned with Windows. As of February 2016, many Windows shortcuts can be used in Excel 2016/Office 365. For example, you can use fn + F4 to toggle between absolute and relative references, Control + Shift + L to toggle a filter on and off, etc. So far, all the shortcuts that have been adjusted to match Windows shortcuts remain backward compatible with previous Mac only shortcuts.

For example while fn F4 toggles references on the Mac, the old shortcut Command + T still works as well.

We’re a team of problem solvers, world travelers, idea guys, and doers, working to make using Excel on a Mac a better experience. That’s enough about us - whether you are new to Excel for Mac or an experienced user, you probably want to spend less time manipulating data and more time thinking. The will help you do that.

If you are a PC user hesitant about switching to Mac because you don’t want to give up your customized menus and shortcuts, well, the just might be the myth-buster you need. Excel for Mac is just as capable as it is for the PC. And with the Excel Skin, you’ll relearn your old shortcuts in no time. The Excel Skin makes it easy to be as proficient and efficient in Excel for Mac as on any other platform. Powerful shortcuts are presented intuitively on an elegant silicone keyboard skin. Shortcut and modifier keys are printed by color and heat fused onto our high quality silicone to ensure durability.

The Excel Skin a small product that will make a big difference in your life. Inserting the AutoSum formula The “AutoSum” shortcut is one of those shortcuts that you don’t think about because Microsoft Excel has the AutoSum shortcut on the toolbar by default. You only learn it once you realize the amount of time you can save by keeping your hands on the keyboard and away from that cumbersome mouse. One of the great features that the “AutoSum” shortcut does is it selects the entire row or column that corresponds to the active cell you executed the shortcut in. In the next steps this will become clearer. Step 1: If you are even thinking about using this shortcut, you will need multiple cells with numeric values in them, and you will be looking for their total.

Having said that, step 1 is to select the cell you wish the sum to appear in. In this example I intend on having the sum of this column appear in the active cell directly under the column. Step 2: Execute shortcut. The “AutoSum” shortcut can be found on the “T” key and is written in green text.

By taking a glance at the Excel Skin’s modifier keys we can confirm there are 2 modifier keys that have the corresponding green color. These keys are the “shift” and “command” key.

Therefore our shortcut is: ⇧⌘T Once we execute this shortcut Excel will select the cells it believes you are trying to sum. And Excel was right! These are the cells I am trying to add up.If there are cells outside this selected region I can select them by dragging the corners of the selected region, or by holding the “command” key and selecting the cells individually. Since the “AutoSum” shortcut was correct in selecting that column for me I press the ' E nter' key and the sum appears in the active cell. The sum is 63. This shortcut is very useful if you have a tendency to use the AutoSum feature of Microsoft Excel for Mac a lot. Instead of taking your hands off the keyboard and clicking the AutoSum button on the toolbar you can execute this 3 key shortcut and move onto your next task seamlessly.