What Is a Function Key?

Function keys. The Esc key and F1 ~ F12 keys on the top of the keyboard are collectively called function keys. The Esc key is used to force abort or exit. F1 ~ F12 keys are defined with different functions when running different software.

Function keys

Function keys, keys. After pressing this key in the Excel and other similar programs to scroll up and down, the cursor will be locked and the page will be scrolled. At this time, the "Scroll Lock" light in the upper right corner of the keyboard is always on; if you press this key again, press the up, When you press the key, the cursor will be scrolled without scrolling the page, and the "Scroll Lock" light in the upper right corner will be off.

Arrow keys (Arrow key)	i. Move one cell up, down, left, or right in the worksheet.
	ii. Press Ctrl + arrow key to move to the edge of the current data area (data area: cell area containing data, blank area or data table border around this area) in the worksheet.
	iii. Press Shift + arrow key to expand the selected range of cells by one cell.
	iv. Press Ctrl + Shift + arrow keys to expand the selected range of cells to the last non-empty cell in the column or row of the active cell, or if the next cell is empty, expand the selected range to The next non-empty cell.
	v. When the ribbon is selected, press the left or right arrow to select the left or right tab. When a submenu is open or selected, press these arrow keys to switch between the main menu and the submenu. When the ribbon tab is selected, press these keys to navigate the tab buttons.
	vi. When the menu or submenu is open, press the down or up arrow to select the next or previous command. When the ribbon tab is selected, press these keys to navigate the tab group up or down.
	vii. In the dialog box, press the arrow keys to move between the options in the open drop-down list, or between the options in a group of options.
	viii. Press the down arrow or Alt + down arrow to open the selected drop-down list.
Backspace (Backspace key)	i. Delete the left character in the edit field.
	ii. You can also clear the contents of the active cell.
	iii. In cell edit mode, pressing this key will delete the character to the left of the insertion point.
Delete (Delete key)	i. Delete cell contents (data and formulas) from selected cells without affecting cell formatting or comments.
	ii. In cell edit mode, pressing this key will delete the character to the right of the insertion point.
End	i. When Scroll Lock is on, move to the cell in the bottom right corner of the window.
	ii. When the menu or submenu is visible, the last command on the menu can also be selected.
	iii. Press Ctrl + End to move to the last cell on the worksheet, which is the intersection of the bottom row used and the rightmost column used. If the cursor is in the edit bar, pressing Ctrl + End moves the cursor to the end of the text.
	iv. Press Ctrl + Shift + End to expand the selected range of cells to the last cell used on the worksheet (in the lower right corner). If the cursor is in the edit bar, press Ctrl + Shift + End to select all the text in the edit bar from the cursor position to the end. This does not affect the height of the edit bar.
Enter (enter)	i. Complete the cell entry from the cell or edit bar and (default) select the cell below.
	ii. In the data form, press this key to move to the first field in the next record.
	iii. Open the selected menu (press F10 to activate the menu bar), or perform the operation of the selected command.
	iv. In the dialog box, press this key to perform the operation of the default command button (the button with a prominent outline, usually the "OK" button) in the dialog box.
	v. Press Alt + Enter to start a new row in the same cell.
	vi. Press Ctrl + Enter to fill the selected cell range with the current entry.
	vii. Press Shift + Enter to complete the cell entry and select the cell above.
Esc (Disengage key)	i. Cancel the entry in the cell or edit field.
	ii. Close the open menu or submenu, dialog box or message window.
	iii. When the full screen mode is applied, pressing this key can also close this mode, return to the normal screen mode, and display the ribbon and status bar again.
Home	i. Move to the beginning of a row in the worksheet.
	ii. When Scroll Lock is on, move to the cell in the upper left corner of the window.
	iii. When the menu or submenu is visible, select the first command on the menu.
	iv. Press Ctrl + Home to move to the beginning of the worksheet.
	v. Press Ctrl + Shift + Home to expand the selected range of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.
Page Down (Page down key)	i. Move down one screen in the worksheet.
	ii. Press Alt + Page Down to move one screen to the right in the worksheet.
	iii. Press Ctrl + Page Down to move to the next worksheet in the workbook.
	iv. Press Ctrl + Shift + Page Down to select the current and next worksheet in the workbook.
Page Up (Page up key)	i. Move up one screen in the worksheet.
	ii. Press Alt + Page Up to move one screen to the left in the worksheet.
	iii. Press Ctrl + Page Up to move to the previous worksheet in the workbook.
	iv. Press Ctrl + Shift + Page Up to select the current and previous worksheets in the workbook.
space (space bar)	i. In the dialog box, perform the action of the selected button, or select or clear the check box.
	ii. Press Ctrl + Space to select the entire column in the worksheet.
	iii. Press Shift + Spacebar to select the entire row in the worksheet.
	iv. Press Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar to select the entire worksheet.
	v. If the worksheet contains data, press Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar to select the current region, press Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar again to select the current region and its summary row, and press Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar a third time to select the entire Worksheet.
	vi. When an object is selected, press Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar to select all objects on the worksheet.
	vii. Press Alt + Spacebar to display the Control menu of the Microsoft Office Excel window.
Tab (Tab)	i. Move one cell to the right in the worksheet. ii. In protected worksheets, move between unlocked cells. iii. In the dialog box, move to the next option or option group. iv. Press Shift + Tab to move to the previous cell (in the worksheet) or the previous option (in the dialog box). v. In the dialog box, press Ctrl + Tab to switch to the next tab. vi. In the dialog box, press Ctrl + Shift + Tab to switch to the previous tab.

F1~F12Excel Function keys F1 ~ F12 in Excel:

F1	i. Display the Microsoft Office Excel Help task pane.
	ii. Press Ctrl + F1 to show or hide the ribbon.
	iii. Press Alt + F1 to create a chart of the data in the current range.
	iv. Press Alt + Shift + F1 to insert a new worksheet.
F2	i. Edit the active cell and place the insertion point at the end of the cell content. If editing in a cell is prohibited, it also moves the insertion point into the edit bar.
	ii. Press Shift + F2 to add or edit cell comments.
	iii. Press Ctrl + F2 to display the Print Preview window.
F3	i. The Paste Name dialog box appears.
	ii. Press Shift + F3 to display the Insert Function dialog box.
F4	i. Repeat the previous command or operation (if possible).
	ii. Press Ctrl + F4 to close the selected workbook window.
F5	i. Display the Position dialog box.
	ii. Press Ctrl + F5 to restore the window size of the selected workbook window.
F6	i. Switch between worksheet, ribbon, task pane, and zoom controls. In a worksheet that has been split (by clicking the View menu, clicking Manage This Window, clicking Freeze Pane, clicking the Split Window command), in the pane and the ribbon area, When switching from time to time, press F6 to include the split pane.
	ii. Press Shift + F6 to switch between worksheet, zoom control, task pane, and ribbon.
	iii. If multiple workbook windows are open, press Ctrl + F6 to switch to the next workbook window.
F7	i. Display the Spell Check dialog box to check spelling in the active worksheet or selected range.
	ii. If the workbook window is not maximized, press Ctrl + F7 to execute the Move command on the window. Use the arrow keys to move the window and press Enter when done, or press Esc to cancel.
F8	i. Turn extended mode on or off. In extended mode, "Extend Selection" appears in the status line, and pressing the arrow keys expands the selection.
	ii. By pressing Shift + F8, you can use the arrow keys to add non-adjacent cells or ranges to the selected range of cells.
	iii. When the workbook is not maximized, press Ctrl + F8 to execute the Size command (on the Control menu of the workbook window).
	iv. Press Alt + F8 to display the Macro dialog box for creating, running, editing, or deleting macros.
F9	i. Calculate all worksheets in all open workbooks.
	ii. Press Shift + F9 to calculate the active worksheet.
	iii. Press Ctrl + Alt + F9 to calculate all worksheets in all open workbooks, whether or not they have changed since the last calculation.
	iv. If you press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F9, the related formula will be re-checked, and then all cells in all open workbooks will be calculated, including those cells that are not marked for calculation.
	v. Press Ctrl + F9 to minimize the workbook window to an icon.
F10	i. Turn the key prompt on or off.
	ii. Press Shift + F10 to display the shortcut menu of the selected item.
	iii. Press Alt + Shift + F10 to display the menu or message of the smart tag. If there are multiple smart tags, press this key combination to switch to the next smart tag and display its menu or message.
	iv. Press Ctrl + F10 to maximize or restore the selected workbook window.
F11	i. Create a chart of the data in the current range.
	ii. Press Shift + F11 to insert a new worksheet.
	iii. Press Alt + F11 to open the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor, where you can create macros by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
F12	The Save As dialog box appears.

Excel Application of function key Excel key combination:

Ctrl + Shift + (	Unhide all hidden rows in the selected range.
Ctrl + Shift +)	Unhide all hidden columns in the selected range.
Ctrl + Shift + &	Applies a bounding box to the selected cells.
Ctrl + Shift_	Removes the outline from the selected cells.
Ctrl + Shift + ~	Apply the "normal" number format.
Ctrl + Shift + $	Apply the currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers are in parentheses).
Ctrl + Shift +%	Apply the "percent" format without decimal places.
Ctrl + Shift + ^	Apply "exponential" format with two decimal places.
Ctrl + Shift + #	Apply the Date format with day, month, and year.
Ctrl + Shift + @	Apply "time" format with hours and minutes and AM or PM.
Ctrl + Shift +!	Apply "numeric" format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) (for negative values).
Ctrl + Shift + *	i. Select the current area (the data area surrounded by blank rows and columns) that surrounds the active cell.
	ii. In the pivot table, it will select the entire pivot table.
Ctrl + Shift +:	Enter the current time.
Ctrl + Shift + "	Copy the value from the cell above the active cell to the cell or edit bar.
Ctrl + Shift + Plus Sign (+)	Displays the Insert dialog box for inserting blank cells.
Ctrl + Minus (-)	Displays the Delete dialog box for deleting the selected cells.
Ctrl +;	Enter the current date.
Ctrl + `	Toggles display of cell values and formulas in a worksheet.
Ctrl + '	Copy the formula from the cell above the active cell to the cell or edit bar.
Ctrl + 1	The Format Cells dialog box appears.
Ctrl + 2	Apply or cancel bold formatting.
Ctrl + 3	Apply or cancel skew formatting.
Ctrl + 4	Apply or remove the underscore.
Ctrl + 5	Apply or cancel strikethrough.
Ctrl + 6	Switch between hidden objects, display objects, and display object placeholders.
Ctrl + 8	Show or hide outline symbols.
Ctrl + 9	Hide selected rows.
Ctrl + 0	Hide selected columns.
Ctrl + A	i. Select the entire worksheet.
	ii. If the worksheet contains data, press Ctrl + A to select the current region, and press Ctrl + A again to select the current region and its Summary line.
	iii. Pressing Ctrl + A a third time selects the entire worksheet.
	iv. When the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula, the Function Parameters dialog box appears.
	v. When the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula, pressing Ctrl + Shift + A will insert the parameter name and parentheses.
Ctrl + B	Apply or cancel bold formatting.
Ctrl + C	Copy the selected cells.
	If you press Ctrl + C twice in succession, the clipboard is displayed.
Ctrl + D	Use the Fill Down command to copy the content and format of the topmost cell in the selected range to the cells below.
Ctrl + F	i. Display the Find and Replace dialog box with the Find tab selected.
	ii. Pressing Shift + F5 also displays this tab, while pressing Shift + F4 repeats the last Find operation.
	iii. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to open the Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected.
Ctrl + G	i. Display the Position dialog box.
	ii. Pressing F5 also displays this dialog.
Ctrl + H	The Find and Replace dialog box is displayed with the Replace tab selected.
Ctrl + I	Apply or cancel skew formatting.
Ctrl + K	Displays the Insert Hyperlink dialog box for new hyperlinks or the Edit Hyperlink dialog box for selected existing hyperlinks.
Ctrl + N	Create a new blank workbook.
Ctrl + O	i. Display the Open dialog box to open or find the file.
	ii. Press Ctrl + Shift + O to select all cells containing comments.
Ctrl + P	i. Display the Print dialog box.
	ii. Press Ctrl + Shift + P to open the Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected.
Ctrl + R	Use the Fill Right command to copy the content and format of the leftmost cell in the selected range to the right cell.
Ctrl + S	Saves the active file using its current file name, location, and file format.
Ctrl + T	The Create Table dialog box appears.
Ctrl + U	i. Apply or un-underline.
	ii. Press Ctrl + Shift + U to switch between expanding and collapsing the edit bar.
Ctrl + V	Inserts the contents of the clipboard at the insertion point and replaces any selection. You can use this shortcut only after you cut or copy the object, text, or cell content.
Ctrl + W	Close the selected workbook window.
Ctrl + X	Cut the selected cells.
Ctrl + Y	Repeat the previous command or operation, if possible.
Ctrl + Z	i. Use the "Undo" command to undo the previous command or delete the last typed.
	ii. When the auto-correction smart tag is displayed, press Ctrl + Shift + Z to use the "Undo" or "Repeat" command to undo or redo the last auto-correction operation.