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25. All Excel Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows and Mac)

25.4 Formatting Shortcuts

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Example first. A KPI sheet shows 0.254 for conversion and 1234567.5 for sales. Rani selects the conversion cell and presses Ctrl+Shift+%: 25%. She selects the sales cell and presses Ctrl+Shift+!: 1,234,567.50. The same keys work on Mac.

Formatting shortcuts — in 30 seconds

What: Formatting shortcuts apply number formats, bold, borders and alignment instantly, and open the Format Cells dialog box.

Why: A report is read in seconds. Percentages, separators and bold totals make it readable, and these keys format a whole sheet in under a minute.

Tiny example: Ctrl+Shift+% turns 0.254 into 25%. Ctrl+Shift+! turns 1234567.5 into 1,234,567.50. Ctrl+1 (Mac: Cmd+1) opens Format Cells for anything else.

First look at the data (before → after):

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

Expected result — After the shortcuts

Cell Value shown
B2 conversion 25%
B3 sales 1,234,567.50
B4 date 10-Nov-26
B5 total **2870** (bold)
Before table and formula as text

Before — Before: raw numbers

Cell Value shown
B2 conversion 0.254
B3 sales 1234567.5
B4 date 46336
B5 total 2870

Formula / click path

B2: Ctrl+Shift+Percent sign (%)
B3: Ctrl+Shift+Exclamation point (!)
B4: Ctrl+Shift+Number sign (#)
B5: Ctrl+B   (Mac: Cmd+B)

Do it step by step:

  1. Select B2 and press Ctrl+Shift+% (same on Mac).
  2. Select B3 and press Ctrl+Shift+!.
  3. Select B4 and press Ctrl+Shift+#: the serial number shows as a date.
  4. Select B5 and press Ctrl+B (Mac: Cmd+B).
  5. For Indian-style lakh separators, open Ctrl+1 (Mac: Cmd+1) › Number › Custom (see 1.6).

Formatting shortcuts: Windows and Mac side by side

To do this Windows Mac
Open Format Cells Ctrl+1 Cmd+1
Bold / italic / underline Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U Cmd+B / Cmd+I / Cmd+U
Strikethrough Ctrl+5 Shift+Cmd+X
General number format Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~) Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~)
Currency format, two decimals Ctrl+Shift+Dollar sign ($) Ctrl+Shift+Dollar sign ($)
Percentage format, no decimals Ctrl+Shift+Percent sign (%) Ctrl+Shift+Percent sign (%)
Date format (day, month, year) Ctrl+Shift+Number sign (#) Ctrl+Shift+Number sign (#)
Time format (hour, minute, AM/PM) Ctrl+Shift+At sign (@) Ctrl+Shift+At sign (@)
Number format: two decimals and thousands separator Ctrl+Shift+Exclamation point (!) Ctrl+Shift+Exclamation point (!)
Add an outline border Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&) Cmd+Option+Zero (0)
Remove the outline border Ctrl+Shift+Underscore (_) Cmd+Option+Hyphen (-)
Hide selected rows / columns Ctrl+9 / Ctrl+0 Ctrl+9 / Ctrl+Zero (0)
Centre-align Alt+H, A, C Cmd+E
Open Paste Special Ctrl+Alt+V Cmd+Ctrl+V
Insert a hyperlink Ctrl+K Cmd+K or Ctrl+K

Note: the currency shortcut uses the currency symbol of your computer's regional settings. For ₹ on any computer, use Format Cells › Currency › Symbol ₹.

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

  1. Format 0.075 as a percentage with one key combination.
  2. Put an outline border around A1:D5 and then remove it.
  3. Hide column C, then find the menu path to unhide it.
Answer

Ctrl+Shift+% shows 8% (no decimals; add one with Home › Increase Decimal to see 7.5%). Border: Ctrl+Shift+& / Ctrl+Shift+_ (Mac: Cmd+Option+0 / Cmd+Option+Hyphen). Hide: Ctrl+0 (Mac: Ctrl+Zero); unhide: select columns B:D › Home › Format › Hide & Unhide › Unhide Columns.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

Formatting changes how a number looks, never the number. 0.254 shown as 25% is still 0.254 in every formula. Check the formula bar when a total looks off by a little.