Edit, Clear, Undo and Redo in Excel Without the Mouse

The edit cell Excel shortcut is F2 on Windows and Control+U (⌃U) on a Mac: it opens the selected cell so you can fix part of it without retyping. Add Esc to cancel, Delete to clear, Ctrl+Z to undo and Ctrl+Y to redo, and you can fix almost any mistake without touching the mouse. This guide covers all of them, for Windows and Mac.

Edit cell Excel shortcut cheat sheet#

These are the keys for changing and fixing cells. On a Mac, notice that editing uses Control while undo and redo use Command.

Type over a cell or edit it?#

When you select a cell and start typing, your typing replaces everything in it. You don't need to delete the old value first. If A5 says Folder and the shop now sells binders, select A5, type Binder and press Enter.

To change only part of a cell, edit it instead. Press F2 (⌃U on a Mac), or double-click the cell. A blinking cursor appears, and you can change just the part that's wrong. That's much faster for long text and formulas.

How to edit a cell with F2 (and on a Mac)#

Select the cell and press F2. On some Windows laptops, F2 shares a key with another function, so hold Fn too. On a Mac, press ⌃U (Control, not ⌘). fn+F2 also works.

The cursor starts at the end of the cell. Now the arrow keys move through the text instead of between cells:

1. A3 says Stapeler. Select it and press F2.
2. Press ← three times, so the cursor sits after the extra e (Stape|ler).
3. Press Backspace (delete on a Mac) once.
4. Press Enter. A3 now says Stapler.

Home and End jump to the start and end of the text while you edit (fn← and fn→ on a Mac laptop). You can also edit in the formula bar above the grid by clicking it.

How to cancel a change with Esc#

Esc throws away what you've typed and keeps the old value, as long as you haven't pressed Enter yet. Type 999 into a cell, press Esc, and the cell goes back to what it was.

Esc only works while you're still typing. Once you press Enter, the change is made, and you need undo instead.

How to clear cells with Delete#

Select one or more cells and press Delete to empty them. On a Mac, press the delete key (the one above return). Only the contents go: the cells stay where they are, and so does their format.

To clear a whole block, select it first. For example, click D2, hold Shift and press ↓ four times to select D2:D6, then press Delete. Selecting ranges fast with the keyboard shows quicker ways to select. To clear formats as well, use Home > Clear > Clear All.

On Windows, Backspace on a selected cell also empties it, but it leaves the cell in edit mode, and it clears only the active cell even if you selected more.

How to undo and redo#

Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on a Mac) undoes your last change. Press it again to undo the step before that. By default, Excel keeps the last 100 undoable actions.

Ctrl+Y redoes what you just undid. On a Mac, press ⌘Y or ⌘⇧Z. On Windows, if there's nothing to redo, Ctrl+Y (or F4) repeats your last action instead, for example making another cell bold.

Some actions can't be undone. Saving a file can't be undone, and running a macro clears the undo list. In Excel for Windows, you can see your recent steps: click the small arrow next to the Undo button and undo several at once.

How to fix a formula without retyping it#

F2 is the fastest way to fix a formula. When you edit a formula, Excel colours each cell reference and draws a box of the same colour around the cells it points at. That makes a wrong reference easy to spot.

Say D2 shows 124.5 but should show the revenue. Its formula is =B2+C2: someone used + instead of *. Press F2, move the cursor next to the + with ←, press Backspace, type * and press Enter. D2 now shows 540. To understand what the references mean, see Excel cell references explained.

Common editing mistakes#

These are the mistakes that cost the most time:

• Typing a number over a formula. The cell looks right today but no longer updates. If you did it by accident, press Ctrl+Z (⌘Z).
• Arrow keys leaving the cell. If you start typing without F2, the arrow keys confirm the entry and move to the next cell. Press F2 first to move inside the text.
• Pressing Esc too late. After Enter, Esc does nothing. Use undo.
• Clearing too much. Delete clears every selected cell. Check the selection before you press it.
• Editing the wrong cell. In a big sheet, use the Name Box to go to the exact cell first. Six Name Box tricks shows how.

Practise editing, clearing and undoing#

Open the edit, clear and undo lesson to practise every key in this guide in a live sheet. You'll replace a cell, fix a typo with F2 (or ⌃U on a Mac), cancel with Esc, clear old notes and bring them back with undo. It takes about five minutes.