Ravindra BagaleCourses & study guides मराठी Track your progress

25. All Excel Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows and Mac)

25.7 Charts and PivotTable Shortcuts

By Last updated:

Example first. Salman selects the City and Amount columns of a city summary and presses Alt+F1: a column chart appears on the same sheet. Pressing F11 instead puts the chart on its own chart sheet (F11 also works on Mac). After new orders arrive, Ctrl+Alt+F5 refreshes every PivotTable in the file.

Chart and PivotTable shortcuts — in 30 seconds

What: These shortcuts insert a chart in one key press, open PivotTable field menus and refresh every PivotTable and query in the workbook.

Why: A quick chart helps you see the shape of data before you design anything. Refresh All prevents the classic mistake of presenting a PivotTable that does not include today's rows.

Tiny example: Select A1:B5 of the city summary and press Alt+F1: an embedded column chart. F11: a chart sheet named Chart1.

First look at the data (before → after):

Chart and PivotTable shortcuts: before and after tables, fictional Blinkit Maharashtra data

Expected result — What you get

Keys Result
Alt+F1 Column chart on the same sheet, 4 bars, tallest = Solapur ₹1,299
F11 New sheet Chart1 with the same chart
Ctrl+Alt+F5 All PivotTables and queries refreshed
Before table and formula as text

Before — City summary (A1:B5)

A: City B: Sales (₹)
Pune 544
Nashik 360
Solapur 1299
Kolhapur 232

Formula / click path

Select A1:B5
Alt+F1   (embedded chart, Windows)
or F11   (chart sheet, Windows and Mac)

Do it step by step:

  1. Select A1:B5.
  2. Press Alt+F1 (Windows). On Mac use Insert › Recommended Charts.
  3. Press Ctrl+Z, select A1:B5 again and press F11 (Windows and Mac) for a chart sheet.
  4. In a PivotTable, select a field header and press Alt+Down arrow (Mac: Option+Down arrow) to open its filter.
  5. After adding data, press Ctrl+Alt+F5 (Windows) or use PivotTable Analyze › Refresh › Refresh All.

Chart and PivotTable shortcuts: Windows and Mac side by side

To do this Windows Mac
Insert an embedded chart of the selected data Alt+F1 (menu: Insert › Recommended Charts)
Insert a chart on a new chart sheet F11 F11
Open the context (right-click) menu Shift+F10 Shift+F10
Open a PivotTable field filter or page-field menu Alt+Down arrow Option+Down arrow
Refresh all PivotTables and queries Ctrl+Alt+F5 (menu: PivotTable Analyze › Refresh › Refresh All)
Go to the Insert tab to add a PivotTable or chart Alt+N, then follow the KeyTips (menu: Insert › PivotTable)
Show or hide the ribbon for more chart space Ctrl+F1 Cmd+Option+R
Insert a new worksheet for the report Shift+F11 Shift+F11

PivotTables are taught in Module 7 and charts in Module 8.

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

  1. Make a chart sheet from the city summary with one key.
  2. Open the filter of the Rows field in a PivotTable from the keyboard.
  3. Refresh every PivotTable at once.
Answer

F11 (Windows and Mac). Select the Row Labels header, Alt+Down arrow (Mac: Option+Down arrow). Ctrl+Alt+F5 on Windows; on Mac PivotTable Analyze › Refresh › Refresh All.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

Use Alt+F1 to look at data, not to present it. A one-key chart shows a spike or a missing city in seconds; then build the real chart with titles and labels.