Formatting shortcuts in Excel: bold, number formats and Key Tips
Bold headings, a revenue column in dollars, shares as percentages: with the mouse each of these is a trip to the ribbon. From the keyboard it is one selection and one shortcut.
In short: Ctrl+B makes text bold, Ctrl+Shift+$ applies the currency format, Ctrl+Shift+% the percentage format, and Ctrl+1 opens Format Cells. Everything else is reachable through the ribbon Key Tips, starting with Alt+H for the Home tab.
Try it now
Click into the practice sheet and use only the keyboard. Select first, then format: every format applies to the whole selection.
Task Make the headings in A1:D1 bold with two key presses.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Month | Revenue $ | Cost $ | Profit $ | |
| 2 | January | 18400 | 12100 | 6300 | |
| 3 | February | 21150 | 13480 | 7670 | |
| 4 | March | 19730 | 12950 | 6780 | |
| 5 | April | 22600 | 14020 | 8580 | |
| 6 | May | 20380 | 13360 | 7020 | |
| 7 | June | 23910 | 14870 | 9040 | |
| 8 | |||||
| 9 |
Formatting shortcuts at a glance
Taken from Microsoft's "Keyboard shortcuts in Excel" reference for Windows and Mac, which uses the US keyboard layout.
| Task | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | Ctrl+B or Ctrl+2 | ⌘+B |
| Italic | Ctrl+I or Ctrl+3 | ⌘+I |
| Underline | Ctrl+U or Ctrl+4 | ⌘+U |
| Strikethrough | Ctrl+5 | ⌘+Shift+X |
| Format Cells dialog | Ctrl+1 | ⌘+1 |
| Currency, two decimals | Ctrl+Shift+$ | Ctrl+Shift+$ |
| Percentage, no decimals | Ctrl+Shift+% | Ctrl+Shift+% |
| Number with thousands separator | Ctrl+Shift+! | Ctrl+Shift+! |
| Date (day, month, year) | Ctrl+Shift+# | Ctrl+Shift+# |
| General format | Ctrl+Shift+~ | Ctrl+Shift+~ |
| Outline border | Ctrl+Shift+& | ⌘+Option+0 |
| Remove outline border | Ctrl+Shift+_ | ⌘+Option+Hyphen |
| Center align | Alt+H, A, C | ⌘+E |
| Fill color | Alt+H, H | not listed |
| Borders menu | Alt+H, B | not listed |
More groups (navigation, rows, formulas, files) are on the Excel shortcut keys cheat sheet.
Bold, italic and underline
Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U work as switches: press once to apply, again to remove. Excel looks at the active cell to decide. If it is already bold, the whole selection goes back to normal; otherwise everything turns bold. The number keys Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3 and Ctrl+4 do the same, but in a browser they switch tabs, so the practice sheets expect the letter versions.
Number format shortcuts: currency, percent, number
A number format only changes how a value looks. The cell still holds 0.28, it just displays as 28%, and every calculation keeps using the real value. Three of these shortcuts cover most daily work:
- Ctrl+Shift+$: currency with two decimal places, negative numbers in parentheses.
- Ctrl+Shift+%: percentage without decimals.
- Ctrl+Shift+!: number with two decimals and a thousands separator.
The symbols are simply the shifted digits on a US keyboard, so in practice you press Ctrl, Shift and 4, 5 or 1. The currency symbol follows your Windows regional settings.
Task Format the revenue in B2:B7 as currency and the shares in C2:C7 as percentages, keyboard only.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Branch | Revenue | Share | ||
| 2 | Boston | 4200 | 0.28 | ||
| 3 | Chicago | 3150 | 0.21 | ||
| 4 | Denver | 2730 | 0.182 | ||
| 5 | Houston | 1890 | 0.126 | ||
| 6 | Miami | 1260 | 0.084 | ||
| 7 | Seattle | 1770 | 0.118 | ||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 |
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Borders and fill color
Ctrl+Shift+& draws an outline border around the selection and Ctrl+Shift+_ removes it. For any other border style, Alt+H, B opens the borders menu, where you pick an option with the arrow keys and Enter.
Fill color has no direct shortcut. Alt+H, H opens the color palette; move to a color with the arrow keys and press Enter. Once you have used a fill color, pressing Ctrl+Y on another selection repeats the last action if possible, which saves the trip back to the palette.
Key Tips: run the ribbon from the keyboard
Press Alt and Excel shows small letters on the ribbon tabs. These are Key Tips. Alt+H opens the Home tab, and Excel then shows a letter next to every command. You press them one after another. Microsoft lists Alt+H, A, C for center alignment, Alt+H, H for fill color and Alt+H, B for borders.
Task Center the headings in A1:E1 with the ribbon Key Tips: Alt and letters instead of the mouse.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Region | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| 2 | North | 48200 | 51900 | 47300 | 55800 | |
| 3 | South | 39700 | 42100 | 44600 | 46900 | |
| 4 | West | 52800 | 50300 | 53700 | 58100 | |
| 5 | East | 31400 | 33800 | 32900 | 36200 | |
| 6 | ||||||
| 7 | ||||||
| 8 |
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The first exercise in this lesson is free.
You do not have to memorize the letters. After Alt+H they appear on screen, so you can follow them, and the paths you use often stick on their own.
Merge cells shortcut
Microsoft's shortcut reference has no dedicated shortcut for merging cells. The keyboard route goes through Key Tips: select the cells, press Alt+H, and follow the letters Excel shows for Merge & Center. In English Excel that path is commonly given as Alt+H, M, C, but check the letters on your screen, since they depend on your Excel version and language.
Before merging, consider whether you need it. Merged cells get in the way of sorting, filtering and selecting whole columns. For a title across several columns there is a cleaner option: select the range, press Ctrl+1, open the Alignment tab and set Horizontal to Center Across Selection. It looks the same, but every cell stays separate.
Format Painter without the mouse
Microsoft lists no shortcut for Format Painter. The keyboard alternative is Paste Special: copy the cell that has the formatting you want, select the target, press Ctrl+Alt+V, then T for Formats and Enter. The paste special shortcuts lesson covers the dialog in detail.
Formatting shortcuts in German Excel
German Excel changes some of these, because the shortcuts follow the menu names:
| English Excel | German Excel |
|---|---|
| Bold: Ctrl+B | Fett: Strg+Umschalt+F (or Strg+2) |
| Italic: Ctrl+I | Kursiv: Strg+Umschalt+K (or Strg+3) |
| Underline: Ctrl+U | Unterstrichen: Strg+Umschalt+U (or Strg+4) |
| Home tab: Alt+H | Start: Alt+R |
| Center: Alt+H, A, C | Zentrieren: Alt+R, RZ |
| Fill color: Alt+H, H | Füllfarbe: Alt+R, H |
Strg is the German label for Ctrl and Umschalt for Shift. In German Excel, Ctrl+U is Fill Down, not underline.
Which Excel versions support these shortcuts?
Microsoft's list applies to Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016. Key Tips depend on the language of your Excel interface. On a Mac, use the Mac column of the table, for example ⌘+E to center.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a shortcut to merge cells in Excel?
Not a dedicated one. Select the cells, press Alt+H and follow the Key Tips to Merge & Center. Center Across Selection under Ctrl+1, Alignment is often the better choice.
What is the shortcut for fill color?
Alt+H, H opens the fill color palette. Pick a color with the arrow keys and press Enter.
How do I add borders with the keyboard?
Ctrl+Shift+& adds an outline border, Ctrl+Shift+_ removes it. Alt+H, B opens the full borders menu.
What is the shortcut for percentage format?
Ctrl+Shift+%. It shows 0.15 as 15% without decimals.
Is there a Format Painter shortcut?
No. Copy the formatted cell, then use Ctrl+Alt+V, T, Enter to paste only the formats.