In all my years of training I am always stunned that most people don’t even know that there are keys at the top of their keyboard that are called function keys. If you’re a gamer then you probably know the F1 key as Help. This seems to be common across all software. But what about all the rest?
I have put together a list of function key uses. This tip follows on from previous lists of keyboard shortcuts in General, Formatting, Navigation, Data Functions as well as Referencing and Selecting. Some, not all, are useful to learn. Some standalone while others if you combine with Ctrl or Alt or shift or a combination of those keys do more. Have a look.
| Key | Description |
| F1 | F1: Displays the Excel Help task pane. |
| Ctrl+F1: Displays or hides the ribbon. | |
| Alt+F1: Creates an embedded chart of the data in the current range. | |
| Alt+Shift+F1: inserts a new worksheet. | |
| F2 | F2: Edit the active cell and put the insertion point at the end of its contents. Or, if editing is turned off for the cell, move the insertion point into the formula bar. If editing a formula, it toggles Point mode off or on so you can use arrow keys to create a reference. |
| Shift+F2: aAdds or edits a cell comment. | |
| Ctrl+F2: Displays the print preview area on the Print tab in the Backstage view. | |
| F3 | F3: Displays the Paste Name dialog box. Available only if names have been defined in the workbook. |
| Shift+F3: Displays the Insert Function dialog box. | |
| F5 | F5: Displays the Go To dialog box. |
| Ctrl+F5: Restores the window size of the selected workbook window. | |
| F6 | F6: Switches between the worksheet, ribbon, task pane, and Zoom controls. In a worksheet that has been split, F6 includes the split panes when switching between panes and the ribbon area. |
| Shift+F6: Switches between the worksheet, Zoom controls, task pane, and ribbon. | |
| Ctrl+F6: Switches to the next workbook window when more than one workbook window is open. | |
| F7 | F7: Opens the Spelling dialog box to check spelling in the active worksheet or selected range. |
| Ctrl+F7: Performs the Move command on the workbook window when it is not maximized. Use the arrow keys to move the window, and when finished press Enter, or Esc to cancel. | |
| F8 | F8: Turns extend mode on or off. In extend mode, Extended Selection appears in the status line, and the arrow keys extend the selection. |
| Shift+F8: Enables you to add a nonadjacent cell or range to a selection of cells by using the arrow keys. | |
| Ctrl+F8: Performs the Size command when a workbook is not maximized. | |
| Alt+F8: Displays the Macro dialog box to create, run, edit, or delete a macro. | |
| F9 | F9: Calculates all worksheets in all open workbooks. |
| Shift+F9: Calculates the active worksheet. | |
| Ctrl+Alt+F9: Calculates all worksheets in all open workbooks, regardless of whether they have changed since the last calculation. | |
| Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F9: Rechecks dependent formulas, and then calculates all cells in all open workbooks, including cells not marked as needing to be calculated. | |
| Ctrl+F9: Minimizes a workbook window to an icon. | |
| F10 | F10: Turns key tips on or off. (Pressing Alt does the same thing.) |
| Shift+F10: Displays the shortcut menu for a selected item. | |
| Alt+Shift+F10: Displays the menu or message for an Error Checking button. | |
| Ctrl+F10: Maximizes or restores the selected workbook window. | |
| F11 | F11: Creates a chart of the data in the current range in a separate Chart sheet. |
| Shift+F11: inserts a new worksheet. | |
| Alt+F11: Opens the Microsoft Visual Basic For Applications Editor, in which you can create a macro by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). | |
| F12 | F12: Displays the Save As dialog box. |
