The MO-211 Excel Expert exam gives you 50 minutes for ~35 tasks — roughly 85 seconds each. Reaching for the mouse for things you could do in two keystrokes burns time you do not have. This cheatsheet collects the shortcuts that actually pay off on the exam.
All shortcuts below are for Excel on Windows (Microsoft 365 Apps), the platform the exam runs on. Mac equivalents are not included — the testing environment is Windows.
🧭 Navigation & Selection
| Shortcut |
What it does |
Ctrl+Home |
Jump to A1 (or top-left of the data region after a freeze) |
Ctrl+End |
Jump to the last used cell on the sheet |
Ctrl+Arrow |
Jump to the edge of the current data region in that direction |
Ctrl+Shift+Arrow |
Extend selection to the edge of the current data region |
Ctrl+A |
Select the current region; press again to select the whole sheet |
Ctrl+Space |
Select the entire current column |
Shift+Space |
Select the entire current row |
Ctrl+G (or F5) |
Open Go To (then Special… for blanks, formulas, constants, etc.) |
Ctrl+F |
Open Find |
Ctrl+H |
Open Replace |
Ctrl+Shift+End |
Select from the active cell to the last used cell |
✏️ Editing
| Shortcut |
What it does |
F2 |
Edit the active cell (cursor at end of contents) |
F4 |
Toggle absolute reference while editing a formula; in dialogs, redo last action |
Alt+Enter |
Insert a line break inside a cell |
Ctrl+; |
Insert today's date (static value) |
Ctrl+Shift+; |
Insert the current time (static value) |
Ctrl+D |
Fill down from the cell above |
Ctrl+R |
Fill right from the cell to the left |
Ctrl+Z |
Undo |
Ctrl+Y |
Redo |
Ctrl+- |
Open the Delete cells dialog |
Ctrl+Shift++ |
Open the Insert cells dialog |
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V |
Copy / Cut / Paste |
Ctrl+Alt+V |
Paste Special (values, formulas, formats, transpose…) |
🎨 Formatting
| Shortcut |
What it does |
Ctrl+1 |
Open the Format Cells dialog (the most useful shortcut on the exam) |
Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U |
Bold / Italic / Underline |
Ctrl+Shift+5 |
Apply Percent format (no decimals) |
Ctrl+Shift+1 |
Apply Number format with thousands separator and 2 decimals |
Ctrl+Shift+4 |
Apply Currency format ($#,##0.00) |
Ctrl+Shift+7 |
Apply outline border to the selection |
Ctrl+Shift+& |
Apply outline border (same as above on US layout) |
Ctrl+Shift+_ |
Remove all borders from the selection |
Ctrl+5 |
Toggle strikethrough |
Tip: When a task says "format as percent with one decimal," Ctrl+Shift+5 then Ctrl+1 to fine-tune is faster than the ribbon every time.
🧮 Formulas
| Shortcut |
What it does |
F9 |
Recalculate all open workbooks; in the formula bar, evaluate the selected portion of a formula |
Shift+F9 |
Recalculate the active sheet only |
Ctrl+Alt+F9 |
Force a full recalculation of all open workbooks |
| `Ctrl+`` |
Toggle Show Formulas view |
F4 |
While editing a reference, cycle through A1 → $A$1 → A$1 → $A1 |
Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
Enter a legacy CSE array formula (rarely needed in M365 with dynamic arrays) |
Alt+= |
Insert AutoSum for the selected range |
Ctrl+[ |
Select all direct precedents of the active cell |
Ctrl+] |
Select all direct dependents of the active cell |
F3 |
Paste a defined name into a formula |
📋 Tables, Filters, PivotTables & Charts
| Shortcut |
What it does |
Ctrl+T |
Convert a range into a Table (confirms the "My table has headers" dialog) |
Ctrl+Shift+L |
Toggle AutoFilter on/off |
Alt+N, V |
Insert PivotTable (sequential, not a chord) |
F11 |
Insert a chart from the selected data on a new chart sheet |
Alt+F1 |
Insert a chart from the selected data on the same sheet |
Alt+Down |
Open the AutoFilter dropdown on the active header cell |
🤖 Macros & Developer
| Shortcut |
What it does |
Alt+F11 |
Open the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) |
Alt+F8 |
Open the Macro dialog (run, edit, delete) |
F5 (in VBE) |
Run the current macro |
F8 (in VBE) |
Step Into — execute one line at a time |
Ctrl+Break (in VBE) |
Halt a running macro |
🪟 Window & View
| Shortcut |
What it does |
Ctrl+N |
New workbook |
Ctrl+O |
Open workbook |
Ctrl+S |
Save (use this constantly during the exam) |
Ctrl+W |
Close the active workbook |
Ctrl+PgDn |
Move to the next sheet |
Ctrl+PgUp |
Move to the previous sheet |
Alt+W, F |
Open the Freeze Panes menu |
Ctrl+F1 |
Toggle the ribbon (collapse / expand) |
Ctrl+Shift+F1 |
Toggle full-screen mode (hides ribbon, tabs, status bar) |
🏋️ Use these in practice
You will not retain any of this from a list. The only way these shortcuts become muscle memory is to use them while you build the practice workbooks in this course — every time you would reach for the mouse, stop and use the shortcut instead. After two or three modules, Ctrl+1, Ctrl+T, Alt+=, and Ctrl+Shift+L will feel automatic, and you will buy yourself the minutes that turn a borderline score into a clear pass.