The BEST Way to Enable Excel Shortcuts in Google Sheets

You've spent years of your life learning Excel shortcuts. You know them like the back of your hand. You're super fast and you're proud of the skills you've built. Then, you're forced to use Google Sheets because everyone at your new company uses it and nobody uses Excel. You open Sheets for the first time and none of the shortcuts make sense and you realize you'll have to do something you haven't done in years: use your mouse

We've all been there, and this article is here to help.

In this article, you will learn how to use Excel shortcuts in Google Sheets the right way. There are two main ways to do this and can and should be used together.

1. Use the Excel shortcuts that exist in Google Sheets by clicking "Enable compatible spreadsheet shortcuts"

2. Use the Excel shortcuts that are missing in Google Sheets by using a 3rd party extension like SheetWhiz

If you leverage both Google's built-in Excel shortcuts (which they inconveniently hide) and SheetWhiz for all the shortcuts they don't support, you'll regain your lost productivity in no time, impress your boss, and be the Google Sheet whiz you were always meant to be.

#1 Unlock Some Excel Shortcuts in Google Sheets by Enabling "Compatible Spreadsheet Shortcuts"

Pros	Example
You can use Excel shortcuts in Google Sheets quickly and natively
Cons	Example
You don't have every Excel shortcut that you'd want	"Set column width" and "Set row height" do not exist in the shortcut list
When you turn on this capability, it disables other capabilities that would have interfered with the new shortcuts	The ability to "Zoom in" by holding down "Ctrl" and "+" on a PC or "⌘" and "+" on a Mac is disabled in favor of the ability to insert rows and columns. While you are now able to insert rows and columns, you can no longer zoom in with this command
The shortcuts are not quite Excel shortcuts.	All shortcuts beginning with "Alt" need to be pressed and held with the next key, whereas in Excel you can press and release Alt before pressing the next key
The shortcuts are not Mac-compatible	Many of the shortcuts that are enabled by turning on "Enable compatible spreadsheet shortcuts" on a PC (such as all border shortcuts) are not available on a Mac

Steps

1. Hold down "Ctrl" and "/" on a PC or "⌘" and "/" on a Mac to bring up the "Keyboard shortcuts" menu. You can alternatively click on "Help" --> "Keyboard shortcuts" to bring up the menu

2. Look in the bottom left for the "Enable compatible spreadsheet shortcuts" switch and turn it on. You'll know it's on when the toggle turns green.

3. Shortcuts are enabled! When you toggle the switch on, you'll notice several shortcuts that were originally greyed out are now black and usable.

For example, if you look up "Borders" in the Keyboard shortcuts search bar, "Apply bottom border" will now have the Excel shortcut "Alt+H,B,O" enabled, which you can now use in your spreadsheet.

On the left side, "Enable compatible spreadsheet shortcuts" is off, resulting in the "Alt+H,B,O" shortcut being disabled. On the right side, the toggle is turned on, enabling you to use "Alt+H,B,O" as a shortcut for bottom border

Note: you will need to hold down "Alt" with "H" and then press "B" and then "O" to run the shortcuts, versus in Excel where you press and release each key consecutively

#2 Use SheetWhiz to unlock the remaining key Excel shortcuts

Pros	Example
You have all the key missing Excel shortcuts	All resize rows and columns shortcuts are available to you
Shortcuts are exactly like what you would experience in Excel	Shortcuts beginning with "Alt" are press and release. You don't have to hold "Alt" plus another key to use the shortcut, which can be inconvenient
Shortcuts are customizable - if you don't remember the Excel shortcut, you can change it	Insert columns can be changed from "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "+" to "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "I" or some other command that's easier to remember / use
You can use SheetWhiz without it disabling other shortcuts
Cons	Example
You have to install it from the Chrome store

Steps

1. Install the SheetWhiz Chrome Extension

2. Reload a Sheet — the SheetWhiz logo should appear in the upper righthand corner of your screen

3. Next, click the logo to view your shortcuts.

4. Try a shortcut! Remember all shortcuts beginning with "Alt" on a PC or "Option" on a Mac must be pressed and released. Shortcuts beginning with "Ctrl" on both a PC and Mac should be pressed and held together

Here is a video of the resize shortcuts in action using SheetWhiz (does not exist natively in Google Sheets)

You can find these specific shortcuts in the "Columns/Rows" section of the menu

⌥ refers to the “Option” button on a Mac. If you are on a PC, you will see “Alt” instead of ⌥. ^ refers to the Control button. If you are on a PC, you will see “Ctrl” instead of ^

You can also customize a shortcut in SheetWhiz if there are keystrokes that are more convenient for you. You can do this by clicking on the shortcut in the menu and changing the key:

Not all keys will be available. In particular, all shortcuts will either start with Control or Alt (Option on a PC)

I would highly recommend using SheetWhiz not just for its Excel features, but also for its other functionalities including trace precedents, trace dependents, and cycling functionalities

In conclusion, the best way to use Excel shortcuts in Google Sheets is to unlock some Excel shortcuts by enabling "Enable compatibility shortcuts" and the remaining key Excel shortcuts using SheetWhiz. Using a combination of approaches will yield the best results as both tools have their pros and cons and knowing where each tool shines is the key to maximizing your productivity in Google Sheets