Author: Debra Dalgleish

On my own computer, I like to see the full menus in Excel, so I selected that setting:

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize
2. On the Options tab, add a check mark to Always Show Full Menus

However, when visiting a client, I sometimes have to use another person’s machine, and I don’t like to change their settings.

Temporary Full Menus

If the full menus option has not been turned on, here’s what happens:

• When you click on an Excel menu, a double chevron may appear at the bottom of the menu.

Then, to see the full Excel menu, you can:

• click on that chevron
• OR, wait a few seconds, and the full menu will appear.

Quick Trick for Full Menus

And here’s a way to avoid waiting to see those full menus.

I like to do this, if I’m on someone else’s computer, and not sure if full menus are enabled:

• To quickly view the full menus, double-click on the menu name

While rushing through a spell check in Excel, you accidentally added an incorrect word to your custom dictionary. Now that it’s in there, how do you get it out?

If you’re adventurous, you can use a text editor, such as NotePad, to modify the dictionaries, which are found in:

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_NAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof

Or, you can modify the list in Microsoft Word, which I find easier:

• In Word, choose Tools ► Options
• On the Spelling & Grammar tab, click Custom Dictionaries
• Select a dictionary in the list, and click Modify
• Scroll through the list, and click on the word you want to remove
  (to select multiple words, press Ctrl and click)

• Click the Delete button
• When finished, click OK
• Close the dialog boxes

In an Excel worksheet, you can use the keyboard navigation keys (Home, End, arrow keys) to move up down or sideways. There are mouse shortcuts too!

Keyboard Navigation Shortcuts

Here are a few keyboard shortcuts, to help you move through the worksheet cells, quickly:

• Right ………. Tab
• Start of worksheet …… Ctrl + Home
• End of worksheet  …… Ctrl + End
• Start of row ………. Home
• Up/ down screen … Page Up/ Down

Work in Excel List

The following keyboard shortcuts help you make smaller movements through a range of cells on an Excel sheet:

• Select current range …… Ctrl + *
• Move to range border ……. Ctrl + arrow
• Move down ………. Enter
• Move up ………. Shift + Enter
• Move right ………. Tab
• Move left ………. Shift + Tab

Mouse Navigation Shortcuts

If you’re a mouse user, like I am, a quick way to navigate is to:

• point to the border of the active cell
• when the pointer changes to a 4-headed arrow, double-click.

That will take you to the end of the list in that direction, stopping just before the first blank cell.

More Excel Shortcuts

For more time-saving Excel shortcuts, go to the Microsoft Excel Shortcuts List page on my Contextures site.