In general, Excel shortcuts on the Mac are more similar than different from Windows shortcuts.
But it may not feel that way, especially if you come from a Windows background.
Here are the 5 key differences you’re gonna wanna be aware of.
First, many shortcut keys on the Mac are often abbreviated as symbols.
Here’s a list of those symbols and the keys they represent.
Second, function keys behave differently on a Mac.
To make function keys operate as you expect in Excel, you oughta hold the function or fn key.
You’ll find this key in the lower left on your keyboard.
But, once you understand the substitutions, the shortcut make more sense.
If you’re using an extended keyboard on a Mac, you don’t need to worry about this.
The fourth difference on Macs is the lack of ribbon shortcuts.
Ribbon shortcuts on Windows are based on so called accelerator keys, and always begin with Alt.
There is no equivalent on the Mac.
Finally, the fifth difference on a Mac is that some Excel shortcuts are just different.
The shortcut to toggle absolute and relative references is F4 in Windows, and Command T on a Mac.
For a complete list of shortcuts, see our side-by-side list on the Exceljet website.
We’ll have a complete list of changes on the Exceljet website.
