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Excel Common Formulas & Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Microsoft Excel is the world’s most widely used spreadsheet software. Mastering common formulas and shortcuts can greatly improve data processing efficiency.

Essential Functions

Category Function Description Example
Math SUM(range) Sum of values =SUM(A1:A10)
Statistics AVERAGE(range) Average of values =AVERAGE(B1:B10)
Logic IF(cond, T, F) Conditional logic =IF(C1>60, "Pass", "Fail")
Lookup VLOOKUP(...) Vertical lookup =VLOOKUP("ID01", A:B, 2, 0)
Text CONCAT(t1, t2) Combine text strings =CONCAT(D1, "@mail.com")
Count COUNTIF(r, c) Count based on criteria =COUNTIF(E:E, ">100")

Keyboard Shortcuts

Win (Ctrl), Mac (Cmd)

Operation Windows macOS
Save File Ctrl + S Cmd + S
Select All Ctrl + A Cmd + A
Undo Ctrl + Z Cmd + Z
Insert Current Date Ctrl + ; Ctrl + ;
Format Cells Ctrl + 1 Cmd + 1
AutoSum (Alt+=) Alt + = Cmd + Shift + T
Fill Down Ctrl + D Cmd + D
Fill Right Ctrl + R Cmd + R

Data Management

Category Description
Freeze Panes View -> Freeze Panes (keep headers visible)
Conditional Formatting Home -> Conditional Formatting (auto-color based on value)
Pivot Table Insert -> Pivot Table (summarize large data)
Data Validation Data -> Data Validation (limit input, e.g., dropdown)
Text to Columns Data -> Text to Columns (split cell by delimiter)

Cell Referencing

  • A1 : Relative Reference. Row/Col changes when copied.
  • $A$1 : Absolute Reference. Row/Col stays fixed when copied.
  • A$1 / $A1 : Mixed Reference. Only Row or Only Col is fixed.
  • Shortcut: Press F4 (Win) or Cmd+T (Mac) in formula to toggle modes.

Common Chart Types

  • Bar Chart: Compare categorical data.
  • Line Chart: Show trends over time.
  • Pie Chart: Show proportional relationships.
  • Scatter Plot: Show correlation between variables.