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25. All Excel Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows and Mac)

25.1 Navigation Shortcuts

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Example first. The Orders sheet has 10 orders in A1:I11. With the mouse, Shraddha Bagale scrolls and clicks to reach the last order. With Ctrl+Down arrow (Mac: Cmd+Down arrow) she is on A11 in one key press, and Ctrl+Home brings her back to A1.

Navigation shortcuts — in 30 seconds

What: Navigation shortcuts move the active cell or the screen without the mouse: to the edge of the data, to A1, to the last used cell, to the next sheet.

Why: On a sheet with 50,000 rows, scrolling takes seconds every time; a shortcut takes one key press and always lands on the same edge.

Tiny example: From A1 press Ctrl+Down arrow: the active cell jumps to A11, the last order. Ctrl+End jumps to I11. Ctrl+Home goes back to A1.

First look at the data (before → after):

Navigation shortcuts: before and after tables, fictional Blinkit Maharashtra data

Expected result — Where the active cell lands

Keys (Windows) Keys (Mac) Active cell
Ctrl+Down arrow Cmd+Down arrow A11
Ctrl+Right arrow Cmd+Right arrow I1
Ctrl+End Ctrl+End I11
Ctrl+Home Ctrl+Home A1
Before table and formula as text

Before — Sheet Orders (A1:I11), active cell A1

A: Order ID B: Date C: City … G: Amount (₹) … I: Status
BLK-1001 02-11-2026 Pune … 64 … Delivered
BLK-1002 02-11-2026 Nashik … 270 … Delivered
AMN-1003 03-11-2026 Pune … 110 … Delivered
… … … … … … …
BLK-1010 08-11-2026 Nashik … 90 … Delivered

Formula / click path

Ctrl+Down arrow   (Mac: Cmd+Down arrow)
Ctrl+End
Ctrl+Home
Ctrl+Page down   (next sheet)

Do it step by step:

  1. Open the Orders sheet and click A1.
  2. Press Ctrl+Down arrow (Mac: Cmd+Down arrow) and read the Name Box: A11.
  3. Press Ctrl+Right arrow from A1 (Mac: Cmd+Right arrow): I1.
  4. Press Ctrl+End: I11, the last used cell.
  5. Press Ctrl+Home to return to A1, and Ctrl+Page down to go to the next sheet.

Navigation shortcuts: Windows and Mac side by side

To do this Windows Mac
Move to the edge of the data region Ctrl+Arrow key Cmd+Arrow key
Move to the beginning of the sheet (A1) Ctrl+Home Ctrl+Home (MacBook: Ctrl+Fn+Left arrow)
Move to the last used cell Ctrl+End Ctrl+End (MacBook: Ctrl+Fn+Right arrow)
Move to the beginning of the row Home Home (MacBook: Fn+Left arrow)
Move one screen down / up Page down / Page up Page down / Page up (MacBook: Fn+Down / Fn+Up arrow)
Move one screen right / left Alt+Page down / Alt+Page up Option+Page down / Option+Page up
Move to the next sheet Ctrl+Page down Ctrl+Page down or Option+Right arrow
Move to the previous sheet Ctrl+Page up Option+Left arrow
Open the Go To dialog box F5 or Ctrl+G Ctrl+G or F5
Open Find Ctrl+F Ctrl+F or Shift+F5
Open Replace Ctrl+H Ctrl+H or Cmd+Shift+H
Move between unlocked cells on a protected sheet Tab Tab
Zoom in / zoom out Ctrl+Alt+Equal sign / Ctrl+Alt+Minus sign (menu: View › Zoom)

Careful with blanks: Ctrl+Arrow stops at the first blank cell. If a column has a gap, press it again to jump over the gap.

Practice task (try it before you open the answer):

  1. From A1, use only the keyboard to reach the Amount of the last order.
  2. Go to the next sheet and back.
  3. Open Replace and close it with Esc.
Answer

Ctrl+Down arrow (Mac: Cmd+Down arrow) reaches A11; then press Right arrow six times to reach G11, which shows ₹90. Ctrl+Page down / Ctrl+Page up (Mac: Option+Right / Option+Left arrow). Ctrl+H opens Replace on both platforms.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

Learn three keys this week: Ctrl+Arrow, Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End. Use them every time you open a file, and the mouse will start to feel slow.