How to switch between worksheets in Excel

Posted on August 2, 2008 at 5:29 am

Make sure to read other posts from the Excel Tips series!

  1. How to switch between worksheets in Excel
  2. How to make a graph on excel
  3. Microsoft Word: AutoText and AutoCorrect
  4. Master Excel Tables with AutoFilter and Subtotal
  5. How to add comments to an Excel Worksheet cell
  6. MS Excel Tips and Tricks – How to count things in Excel

A number of people in my office have been asking me how they can easily switch between worksheets in Excel using their keyboards rather than having to click on an individual sheet!

This may sound lazy to someone who does not use Excel very often, but when you’re a manager and have an Excel spreadsheet in front of you with 50 tabs, that little mouse pointer can start to be a real pain!

Anyway, it’s always good to know shortcuts if you can…I’ve been in the situation numerous times where my touch pad died and I didn’t have a mouse on me! Knowing some slick keyboard shortcuts can make the difference between getting some work done or putting your computer into StandBy mode.

For a good shortcut to know, check out my article on how to switch between tabs in IE.

Switch between worksheets in Excel

excel switch tabs

Ok so in order to move through sheets in Excel using the keyboard, simply press CTRL and the PgUp or PgDn buttons! That’s it…it’s super easy, but for some reason not easily found in any of the keyboard shortcuts lists provided by Microsoft.

That’s one of my favorite shortcut keys in Excel, but there are several other ones also, which you might find useful:

CTRL + ; - Enters the current date into the active cell

CTRL + A – Selects the entire worksheet

ALT+F1 - Creates a chart of the data in the current range

SHIFT+F3 - displays the Insert Function dialog box

SHIFT+F11 - Inserts a new worksheet

CTRL+HOME - Moves to the beginning of a worksheet

CTRL+SPACEBAR - Selects an entire column in a worksheet

SHIFT+SPACEBAR - Selects an entire row in a worksheet

You can also check out my other posts on keyboard shortcuts, including how to right-click using the keyboard, Windows Logo key shortcuts, essential Microsoft Word shortcuts, Internet Explorer shortcuts.

Anything other shortcut you would to know about Excel? Post a comment and I’ll try to get you the info! Enjoy!

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2 Responses to “How to switch between worksheets in Excel”

  1. Yusuf Kaydawala said on : August 2nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    Thanks !!

    I am looking forward for more keyboard shortcuts.


  2. John said on : October 26th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    Ctrl PageUp/PageDn does not move between worksheets for me. All it does is take me to the very bottom or top of the sheet I am in?


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