wood-mouse : Image source - Pixabay.comDo you get frustrated by a naughty mouse? Does your mouse die on you? How do you continue to work without a mouse or touchpad on a laptop?

To some, this is a nightmare and one you could not imagine ever getting out of. It’s the end of the world!!! Well NO it isn’t. The mouse was designed to help you select the items in a window without having to pass over every choice there is. We needed to do this back in DOS.

But using the mouse is not always the fastest or best way to work. When your mouse dies, and they do, using the keyboard is your only option. Learning how to and a few choice keystrokes is well worth the time.

I have been publishing a few shortcut lists for you to use in Excel. Beginning with general shortcuts. Navigation, formatting of data, referencing and selecting, Functions, and the 12 Function keys. In this article I am introducing you to use the keyboard to access the different tabs and the tools held on the ribbons.

To go directly to a tab on the ribbon, press one of the following access keys:

To do this Press
Open the Tell me box on the Ribbon and type a search term for assistance or Help content. Alt+Q, and then enter the search term.
Open the File page and use Backstage view. Alt+F
Open the Home tab and format text and numbers and use the Find tool. Alt+H
Open the Insert tab and insert PivotTables, charts, add-ins, Sparklines, pictures, shapes, headers, or text boxes. Alt+N
Open the Page Layout tab and work with themes, page setup, scale, and alignment. Alt+P
Open the Formulas tab and insert, trace, and customize functions and calculations. Alt+M
Open the Data tab and connect to, sort, filter, analyse, and work with data. Alt+A
Open the Review tab and check spelling, add comments, and protect sheets and workbooks. Alt+R
Open the View tab and preview page breaks and layouts, show and hide gridlines and headings, set zoom magnification, manage windows and panes, and view macros. Alt+W
Working in the ribbon with the keyboard
To do this Press
Select the active tab of the ribbon, and activate the access keys. Alt or F10. To move to a different tab, use access keys or the arrow keys.
Move the focus to commands on the ribbon. Tab or Shift+Tab
Move down, up, left, or right, respectively, among the items on the Ribbon. The Down Arrow, Up Arrow, Left Arrow, or Right Arrow key
Activate a selected button. Spacebar or Enter
Open the list for a selected command. The Down Arrow key
Open the menu for a selected button. Alt+Down Arrow
When a menu or submenu is open, move to the next command. Down Arrow key
Expand or collapse the ribbon. Ctrl+F1
Open a context menu. Shift+F10
Or, on a Windows keyboard use the Context key (between the right Alt and right Ctrl keys)

 

Try some of these for yourself and see that there may well be quite a few that when you know them will be quicker to use, even when the mouse is working well.

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