Moving around with the keyboard
Jump around a long list without the mouse.
Ctrl+Arrow jumps to the end of the data; Home, Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End jump to the edges.
This lesson is about keyboard shortcuts, so it needs a computer with a keyboard.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Order | Customer | Item | Qty | Price | Total | ||
| 2 | #5001 | Isla Kowalski | Webcam | 2 | 51 | 102 | ||
| 3 | #5002 | Tariq Dubois | Gel Pens (10) | 2 | 8 | 16 | ||
| 4 | #5003 | Daniel Okafor | Notebook A5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5 | #5004 | Zoe Jensen | Headset | 3 | 149 | 447 | ||
| 6 | #5005 | Chloe Evans | Wireless Mouse | 3 | 31 | 93 | ||
| 7 | #5006 | Sam Walsh | Bookshelf | 7 | 171 | 1197 | ||
| 8 | #5007 | Sam Walsh | Bookshelf | 2 | 64 | 128 | ||
| 9 | #5008 | Chloe Evans | Monitor Stand | 8 | 41 | 328 | ||
| 10 | #5009 | Chloe Evans | Paper (500) | 2 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 11 | #5010 | Isla Kowalski | Notebook A5 | 9 | 2 | 18 | ||
| 12 | #5011 | Daniel Okafor | Office Chair | 4 | 138 | 552 | ||
| 13 | ||||||||
| 14 |
In a bit more detail
Why use the keyboard?
Your hands stay on the keys while you type, and a jump to the end of 10,000 rows takes one press instead of a long scroll.
What does Ctrl+Arrow do?
It jumps to the edge of the data: from inside a block of filled cells, to the last filled cell before a gap. From an empty cell, to the next filled one. Ctrl+↓ from a header takes you to the last row of a list.
What about gaps?
Ctrl+Arrow stops at every gap, so a blank cell in the middle of a column stops it early. That's a handy way to spot missing data.
Which keys go home?
Home goes to column A of the row you're on. Ctrl+Home goes to
A1. Ctrl+End goes to the last row and column that have anything in them.And on a Mac?
Use Cmd where it says Ctrl. Without a Home key, use Fn+← for Home and Fn+Ctrl+← for Ctrl+Home.
Know someone fighting with a spreadsheet? Send them this page.