Shortcut to Switch Sheets in Excel (Windows and Mac)
By ExcelReady TeamUpdated 4 min read
The short answer
To switch sheets in Excel on Windows, press Ctrl+Page Down for the next sheet and Ctrl+Page Up for the previous one. On a Mac, press Option+Right arrow or Option+Left arrow, or Control+Page Down and Control+Page Up. To jump to a sheet far away, right-click the arrows left of the sheet tabs and pick it from the list.
Key takeaways
- Windows: Ctrl+Page Down goes to the next sheet, Ctrl+Page Up to the previous one.
- Mac: Option+Right arrow and Option+Left arrow, or Control+Page Down and Control+Page Up.
- Adding Shift (Ctrl+Shift+Page Down) selects several sheets, which groups them: edits then hit every grouped sheet.
- You can switch sheets while typing a formula to point at a cell on another sheet.
On this page+
The switch sheets shortcut in Excel is Ctrl+Page Down to go to the next sheet and Ctrl+Page Up to go back. On a Mac, use Option+Right arrow and Option+Left arrow. This guide is for anyone who works across monthly tabs or takes a timed Excel test, and it covers laptop keys, jumping to a far-away sheet, and switching sheets in the middle of a formula.
The shortcuts to switch sheets in Excel#
Sheets are the tabs along the bottom of a workbook. These keys move between them without the mouse:
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Next sheet (to the right) | Ctrl+Page Down | Option+Right arrow, or Control+Page Down |
| Previous sheet (to the left) | Ctrl+Page Up | Option+Left arrow, or Control+Page Up |
| Select the next sheet too | Ctrl+Shift+Page Down | Shift+Control+Page Down |
| Select the previous sheet too | Ctrl+Shift+Page Up | Shift+Control+Page Up |
| Insert a new sheet | Shift+F11 | Shift+F11 (fn+Shift+F11 on some keyboards) |
| Next open workbook | Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+F6 | ⌘` (Command and the key above Tab) |
Hold the keys down to move quickly through many sheets. Excel stops at the first or last sheet; it doesn't loop around.
How to switch sheets on a laptop#
Many laptops have no separate Page Up and Page Down keys. They usually sit on the arrow keys and need the Fn key.
- Windows laptops: press Ctrl+Fn+Down arrow for the next sheet and Ctrl+Fn+Up arrow for the previous one. The exact keys vary by brand, so look for small "PgDn" and "PgUp" labels.
- MacBooks: Option+Right arrow and Option+Left arrow need no Fn key at all. If you prefer the Control keys, fn+Control+Down arrow works as Control+Page Down.
If nothing happens, check that you aren't editing a cell. While the cursor is blinking inside a cell, some keys move the text cursor instead. Press Enter or Esc first.
How to jump to a sheet far away#
When a workbook has 20 tabs, pressing Ctrl+Page Down 15 times is slow. Use one of these instead:
- The sheet list. Right-click the small arrows to the left of the sheet tabs. Excel opens a list of every sheet. Double-click the one you want.
- Go To. Press F5 or Ctrl+G (Mac: Control+G), type a reference such as
March!A1, and press Enter. If the sheet name has a space, put it in single quotes:'March 2026'!A1. - The Name Box. Click the box left of the formula bar, type
March!A1and press Enter. It works the same way as Go To.
Once you're on the right sheet, use Ctrl+Home (Mac: Control+Home, or fn+Control+Left arrow) to go to cell A1, and Ctrl+arrow keys (Mac: ⌘+arrow) to jump to the edge of the data. You can practise jumping to the edge of your data in a live sheet, and the guide to selecting ranges fast in Excel adds Shift to these moves.
How to switch sheets while writing a formula#
You can change sheets in the middle of a formula to point at a cell on another sheet. Excel writes the sheet name into the formula for you.
Say a Summary sheet needs January's total from cell B8 of the January sheet:
- On Summary, click the cell and type
=. - Press Ctrl+Page Down (Mac: Option+Right arrow) until you reach January. You can also click the tab.
- Click B8. The formula bar shows
=January!B8. - Press Enter. Excel returns you to Summary with the result.
Don't click back to Summary before pressing Enter. That would point the formula at a cell on Summary instead. The exclamation mark separates the sheet name from the cell. If the name has spaces, Excel adds single quotes: ='Jan 2026'!B8.
This is the core of the worksheets and cross-sheet references lesson. Once you can point at other sheets, you can sum the same cell across sheets with one formula, or use VLOOKUP between two sheets.
Grouped sheets: the Shift trap#
Adding Shift to the switch shortcut doesn't just move; it selects sheets. Selecting more than one sheet groups them, and anything you type then goes onto every grouped sheet at the same position.
That is useful on purpose. For example, group twelve monthly sheets and type a heading in A1 once. But it's a common accident too: you think you're editing one sheet and you overwrite the same cells on three others.
How to tell and how to fix it:
- The title bar shows Group next to the file name, and the selected tabs look white.
- To ungroup, right-click any selected tab and choose Ungroup Sheets, or click a tab that isn't part of the group.
- If you already typed over data, press Ctrl+Z (Mac: ⌘Z) right away.
Other sheet tips that save time#
A few more habits make multi-sheet workbooks easier to move around:
- Rename tabs clearly. Double-click a tab, type a short name like
Janand press Enter. Short names make cross-sheet formulas easier to read. - Color key tabs. Right-click a tab and choose Tab Color, for example green for input sheets and blue for reports.
- Keep the order logical. Drag tabs into time order, so Ctrl+Page Down moves through the months in sequence.
- Use one workbook per project. If you often switch between two files, consider moving the sheets into one workbook. The guide to combining sheets in Excel shows how.
Filter buttons are another key worth learning alongside these. See the Excel filter shortcut to turn filters on and off on each sheet.
Practise it#
The exercise on this page builds the kind of monthly total that a summary sheet would read with =January!B8. Next, practise jumping to the edge of your data so you can move around each sheet without the mouse. Then practise worksheets and cross-sheet references in a live spreadsheet, where you switch sheets and build formulas that read from other tabs.
Try it yourself
This is a live spreadsheet. Type the formula in the green cell and press Enter.
This is the January sheet of a workbook. A summary sheet will read its total from here. In B8, use SUM to add the weekly sales in B2:B7, then press Enter.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sales | |||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 7 | ||||
| 8 | Total | |||
| 9 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
| 11 |
Tip: SUM needs one range: B2:B7. The returns are negative, so SUM subtracts them for you.
Practise this in a lesson
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortcut to switch between sheets in Excel?
On Windows, Ctrl+Page Down moves to the next sheet and Ctrl+Page Up to the previous one. On a Mac, use Option+Right arrow and Option+Left arrow, or Control+Page Down and Control+Page Up.
How do I switch sheets on a laptop without Page Up and Page Down keys?
Many Windows laptops put Page Up and Page Down on the arrow keys, so press Ctrl+Fn+Down arrow or Ctrl+Fn+Up arrow. On a Mac, Option+Right arrow and Option+Left arrow work without any Page keys.
How do I see a list of all sheets in Excel?
Right-click the small arrows to the left of the sheet tabs. Excel shows a list of every sheet, and you can double-click one to go straight to it.
How do I switch between open workbooks?
On Windows, press Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+F6 to move to the next open workbook. On a Mac, press Command and the ` key above Tab to cycle through Excel windows.
Why are my edits appearing on several sheets?
The sheets are grouped, usually after a Shift or Ctrl click on the tabs or Ctrl+Shift+Page Down. The title bar shows Group. Right-click a tab and choose Ungroup Sheets.