Excel 2003 and 2007 / 2010
Quick Reference – The Most Important Keyboard Shortcuts for
Investment Banking & Private Equity
http://breakingintowallstreet.com
The Fundamentals
Rows & Columns
Formatting & Cleaning Data
Ctrl + O
Ctrl + N
Ctrl + P
Ctrl + S
Ctrl + F4
Alt + F4
Esc
Ctrl + C
Ctrl + X
Ctrl + V
Ctrl + Z
Ctrl + Y
Ctrl + A
Ctrl + F
Ctrl + H
Alt + Tab
Ctrl + Spacebar
Shift + Spacebar
Alt + I + R
Alt + I + C
Alt + E + D
Ctrl + 1
Alt + E + S + T
Alt + E + S + V
Shift + Ctrl + ~
Shift + Ctrl + !
Shift + Ctrl + @
Shift + Ctrl + #
Shift + Ctrl + $
Shift + Ctrl + %
Shift + Ctrl + ^
Ctrl + B
Ctrl + I
Ctrl + U
Ctrl + 5
Ctrl + Shift + &
Ctrl + Shift + Alt + O + C + A
Alt + O + R + A
Alt + O + C + W
Alt + O + D
Open File
New File
Print
Save File
Close File
Close Excel
Exit Dialog
Copy
Cut
Paste
Undo
Redo
Select All
Find
Replace
Switch Windows
F4
Right Mouse
Button + E
Alt + D + G + G
Alt + D + G + U
Alt + D + G + S
Alt + D + G + H
Navigation & Data Selection
Arrow Keys
Ctrl + Arrows
Shift + Arrows
Shift + Ctrl +
Arrows
Shift + F8
Move Left, Right,
Up, Down
Jump to
Boundary
Select Multiple
Cells
Select to
Boundary
Select Multiple
Areas
Manipulating Cells
F2
Del
Ctrl + Arrows
Ctrl + Shift +
Arrows
Ctrl + F3
F5
Edit Cell
Delete Cell
Contents
Skip Word(s)
Highlight
Word(s)
Name Cell
Jump to Cell
Select Column
Select Row
Insert Row
Insert Column
Delete
Rows/Columns
Repeat Last
Action
Insert Cut Cells
Group Rows /
Columns
Ungroup Rows /
Columns
Show Rows /
Columns
Hide Rows /
Columns
Workbooks & Worksheets
Ctrl + N
Ctrl + Tab
Shift + F11
Alt + E + L
Ctrl + PgUp
Ctrl + PgDn
Alt + E + M
Shift + Ctrl +
PgUp/PgDn
Alt + O + H + H
Alt + O + H + U
Alt + O + H + R
Alt + O + H + T
New Workbook
Switch
Workbook
New Worksheet
Del Worksheet
Move to Left
Worksheet
Move to Right
Worksheet
Move / Copy
Worksheet
Select Multiple
Worksheets
Hide Worksheet
Show
Worksheets
Rename
Worksheet
Color Tab
Alt + D + E
=TRIM
=PROPER
Alt + D + S
Format Cells
Paste Format
Paste Values
General
Number
Time
Date
Currency
Percentage
Scientific
Bold
Italics
Underline
Strikethrough
Add Outline
Delete Outline
Auto-Fit Col.
Auto-Fit Row
Column Width
Conditional
Formatting
Text to Columns
Remove Extra
Spaces
Fix
Capitalization
Sort Data
Display & Printing
Alt + W + F + F
Alt + W + F
Alt + V + Z
Alt + P + S + P
Alt + F + U
Alt + F + W + V
Alt + F + V
Freeze Panes
(2007 / 2010)
Freeze Panes
(2003)
Zoom
Page Setup
(2007 / 2010)
Page Setup
(2003)
Print Preview
(2007 / 2010)
Print Preview
(2003)
Excel 2003 and 2007 / 2010
Quick Reference – The Most Important Keyboard Shortcuts for
Investment Banking & Private Equity
http://breakingintowallstreet.com
Formula Fundamentals
Common Built-In Functions
Auditing Formulas
=
Shift + F3
Enter Formula
Built-In
Functions
Paste Formulas
Paste Formats
& Formulas
Copy Down
Copy Right
Anchor Cell
Paste Link
Go to Formulas
Go to Constants
=SUM
Alt + =
Alt + T + U + T
Show Formulas
=ABS
=IF
=OR
Alt + E + S + F
Alt + E + S + R
Ctrl + D
Ctrl + R
F4
Alt + E + S + L
F5, Alt + S + F + X
F5, Alt + S + O +
X
Ctrl + ~ + =
Lookups & Scenarios
=CHOOSE
=OFFSET
=VLOOKUP
=HLOOKUP
=MATCH
=INDEX
Select from List
Move # of
Rows/Columns
from Cell
Find Based on
Column
Find Based on
Row
Find Item’s
Position
Find Item
=COUNT
=AVERAGE
=MAX
=MIN
=SUMIF
=COUNTIF
=SUMPRODUCT
=AND
Sum Numbers
Sum Adjacent
Cells
Count # Entries
Average
Maximum
Minimum
Conditional
Sum
Conditional
Count
Multiply/Sum
Range
Absolute Value
Conditional
At Least 1 Must
Be True
All Must Be
True
Alt + D + L
Pivot Table
Data Tables
Alt + D + T
Drop Data Items = Calculation Area
Row/Column Fields = Categories
Ctrl + }
F5 + Enter
Shift + F2
Alt + E + A + M
F5, Alt + S + C
Alt + T + M + R
Advanced Data
Filter
Validate Data
Pivot Tables
Alt + D + P
Alt + T + U + A
Shift + Ctrl + {
Shift + Ctrl + }
Ctrl + {
Recording Macros
Validating Data
Alt + D + F + A
Alt + T + U + D
Trace
Precedents
Trace
Dependents
Erase Traces
All Precedents
All Dependents
Highlight
Precedents
Highlight
Dependents
Jump to
Original Cell
Add/Edit
Comment
Del Comment
Highlight
Comments
Data Table
Row Input Cell = Purchase Price
Column Input Cell = EBITDA Multiple
Alt + T + M + M
Start/Stop
Recording
View Macros
Excel 2003 and 2007 / 2010
Quick Reference – The Most Important Keyboard Shortcuts for
Investment Banking & Private Equity
http://breakingintowallstreet.com
Custom Number Formats
Example Data:
5
-1200
0
WallSoft
1.
2.
3.
Displayed As:
5.0x
(1,200.00)
Balanced!
Model - WallSoft
Used For:
Valuation Multiples
Negative Expenses
Balance Sheet Checks
Titles & Headers
The order for Custom Number Formats is: [Positive Style];
[Negative Style]; [Zero Style]; [Text Style]
If you include the “@” symbol and text, the text will appear and
the “@” will be replaced by what’s in the cell.
[Red] and [Blue] can be used for color coding.
Custom Keyboard Shortcuts – Excel 2007 / 2010
In Excel 2007 and 2010, you can add custom shortcuts by right clicking the Quick Access Toolbar and going to “Customize
Quick Access Toolbar” – or you can right-click the button itself and go to “Add to Quick Access Toolbar.” Then, you
activate the shortcut by pressing the Alt key and the number it’s assigned to. Here, Alt + 5 would decrease decimal places.
Custom Keyboard Shortcuts – Excel 2003
In Excel 2003, you have to right click the toolbar first, go to “Customize,” then right click the button you want to add a
shortcut for, change the Name to the “&” symbol and then the shortcut key you want, and then click “Image and Text.”
Iterations & Circularity
Always make sure Workbook Calculation is set to “Manual” and “Enable Iterative Calculations” is checked with Maximum
Iterations set to 100 when working with circular references – they occur most often in LBO models.