5 SHORTCUTS TO ADJUST ROWS AND COLUMNS IN EXCEL

Excel is one of the most versatile and widely used spreadsheet software programs. Collecting, organising, maintaining, and analysing data with Excel is easy. Despite being the easiest spreadsheet software, it also offers thousands of shortcuts to work effectively and efficiently.

5 SHORTCUTS TO ADJUST ROWS AND COLUMNS IN EXCEL

Here are 5 shortcuts to adjust the rows and columns in Excel. 

1. Selecting entire rows/ columns

Selecting a row or column in Excel is the basic function that we perform to and from with the mouse. Although it is not a difficult task, it can be time-consuming overall. So here is the shortcut to select an entire row and column in Excel. 

• Shortcut to select Row in Excel 

Shift + Spacebar

• Shortcut to select a Column in Excel 

Ctrl + Spacebar

You can select the corresponding cells, rows, or columns by pressing the shortcut keys. 

• Inserting  rows/ columns

Inserting a row or column is a function that we often perform in Excel. But the basic procedure we follow is using the mouse to scroll over the rows/columns, right-click and insert. The shortcut to inserting rows/columns in Excel without using the mouse is, 

• Shortcut to insert Row in Excel 

Alt + I + C (column)

• Shortcut to insert Column in Excel 

Alt + I + R (row)

The shortcut remains the same if you want to insert multiple rows or columns. All you need to do is select the number of cells in the rows or columns that you want to insert. 

• Hide/ Unhide rows and columns

When working on spreadsheets, we often hide specific rows or columns containing notes, important information or even calculations. The shortcut in Excel to hide and unhide rows and columns is, 

• Shortcut to hide Row in Excel 

Ctrl + 9

• Shortcut to hide Column in Excel 

Ctrl + 0

• Shortcut to unhide Row in Excel 

Ctrl + - (minus sign)

• Shortcut to unhide Column in Excel 

Ctrl + - (minus sign)

• Auto-fit width of cells

While inserting data into a cell, we often need help with its width. To fix the width, we can either double-click on the headers, drag, or go to format cells to autofit the width of the cells. The shortcut to autofit the content of the cells without using the mouse is, 

• Shortcut to autofit Row height in Excel 

Alt + H + O + A

• Shortcut to autofit Column width  in Excel 

Alt + H + O + I

• Adding or removing cell borders

Cell borders and gridlines make your spreadsheets attractive. The shortcut keys to applying borders in Excel are, 

• Shortcut to add border outline

Ctrl + Shift + &

• Shortcut to add/ remove left border

Alt + L

• Shortcut to add/ remove the right border

Alt + R

• Shortcut to add/ remove top border

Alt + T

• Shortcut to add/ remove bottom border

Alt + B

• Shortcut to remove border outline

Ctrl + Shift + _

You don't need to scroll down to the border section repeatedly. 

Shortcuts in Excel are very essential to perform tasks efficiently. Amongst, every function in Excel can be performed using Excel. However, knowing a few you use daily is enough to work effectively. The only way to learn shortcuts is by applying them repeatedly in practice. 

Try using different shortcuts in Excel and let us know in the comments section which one you like the most.