Excel Alt shortcuts on Mac: the complete list
On Windows, Excel's Alt sequences like AltHOI are muscle memory for anyone who works in spreadsheets. Here is how they work in Excel for Mac, and every sequence you can use, menu by menu.
How it worksSetupFormatPasteBordersInsert & DeleteClear, Sort, AutoSumClassic Alt E S
How Alt shortcuts work in Excel for Mac
Macs don't have an Alt key; the closest key is Option (⌥). Excel for Mac has a feature called KeyTips: when it's switched on, tapping Option shows letters on the ribbon, just like pressing Alt on Windows. Type H and you're on the Home tab; type O and the Format menu opens.
That's where Excel for Mac stops. The items inside the menus get no letters, so the last key of a sequence (the I in Alt H O I) does nothing, and you're back to the mouse or the arrow keys. That affects the most-used sequences: AutoFit, Paste Values, borders, insert and delete rows.
RibbonBridge finishes the job: it puts a letter on every menu item, using the same letters as Windows, so ⌥HOI autofits a column exactly like Alt H O I on Windows. It also adds the classic Excel 2003 sequences such as Alt E S. Try it free for 7 days.
In the tables below, Excel means the sequence works with Excel for Mac's own KeyTips; RibbonBridge means the last key needs RibbonBridge. On a Mac you tap ⌥ instead of pressing Alt, then type the letters one after another.
Setup: switch on Excel's KeyTips
- In Excel, open Excel ▸ Settings… ▸ Accessibility.
- Under KeyTips, set the activation keystroke to ⌥ (Option).
- Close the settings and open a workbook. Tap Option (press and release it) and letters appear on the ribbon.
Tapping Option does nothing while you're typing inside a cell; press Return or Esc first. Holding Option to type special characters (like ⌥L for @ on German keyboards) keeps working.
Home ▸ Format (AltHO)
| Windows | On Mac | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt H O I | ⌥HOI | AutoFit column width | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O A | ⌥HOA | AutoFit row height | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O W | ⌥HOW | Column width… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O H | ⌥HOH | Row height… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O D | ⌥HOD | Default width… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O U R / C | ⌥HOUR / C | Hide rows / columns | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O U O / L | ⌥HOUO / L | Unhide rows / columns | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O U S / H | ⌥HOUS / H | Hide / unhide sheet | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O R | ⌥HOR | Rename sheet | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O M | ⌥HOM | Move or copy sheet… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O T | ⌥HOT | Tab colour | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O P / L | ⌥HOP / L | Protect sheet… / lock cell | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H O E | ⌥HOE | Format cells… | RibbonBridge |
Home ▸ Paste (AltHV)
Copy first (⌘C), then:
| Windows | On Mac | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt H V V | ⌥HVV | Paste values | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V F | ⌥HVF | Paste formulas | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V R | ⌥HVR | Paste formatting | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V T | ⌥HVT | Paste transposed | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V A | ⌥HVA | Values & number formatting | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V E | ⌥HVE | Values & source formatting | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V O | ⌥HVO | Formulas & number formatting | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V K / B / W | ⌥HVK / B / W | Keep source formatting / no borders / keep column widths | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V N / U / I | ⌥HVN / U / I | Paste link / as picture / linked picture | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H V S | ⌥HVS | Paste Special… | RibbonBridge |
Home ▸ Borders (AltHB)
| Windows | On Mac | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt H B A | ⌥HBA | All borders | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B N | ⌥HBN | No border | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B T | ⌥HBT | Thick box (outside) border | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B S | ⌥HBS | Outside borders | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B O / P | ⌥HBO / P | Bottom / top border | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B L / R | ⌥HBL / R | Left / right border | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B B / H | ⌥HBB / H | Bottom double / thick bottom border | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B D / C / U | ⌥HBD / C / U | Top and bottom / top and thick bottom / top and double bottom | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H B M | ⌥HBM | More borders… | RibbonBridge |
Home ▸ Insert (AltHI) and Delete (AltHD)
| Windows | On Mac | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt H I R | ⌥HIR | Insert sheet rows | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H I C | ⌥HIC | Insert sheet columns | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H I I / S | ⌥HII / S | Insert cells… / insert sheet | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H D R | ⌥HDR | Delete sheet rows | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H D C | ⌥HDC | Delete sheet columns | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H D D / S | ⌥HDD / S | Delete cells… / delete sheet | RibbonBridge |
Clear, Sort & Filter and AutoSum
| Windows | On Mac | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt H E A | ⌥HEA | Clear all | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H E F | ⌥HEF | Clear formats | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H E C | ⌥HEC | Clear contents | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H E M / L / R | ⌥HEM / L / R | Clear comments and notes / clear hyperlinks / remove hyperlinks | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H S S | ⌥HSS | Sort A to Z (smallest to largest) | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H S O | ⌥HSO | Sort Z to A (largest to smallest) | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H S U | ⌥HSU | Custom sort… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H S F / C / Y | ⌥HSF / C / Y | Filter / clear / reapply | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H U S | ⌥HUS | AutoSum | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H U A / C | ⌥HUA / C | Average / count numbers | RibbonBridge |
| Alt H U M / I | ⌥HUM / I | Max / min | RibbonBridge |
| Alt A T | ⌥AT | Filter on / off (Data tab) | Excel |
Classic Excel 2003 sequences (Alt E S, Alt O C A…)
Excel 2003's menus are long gone, but Excel for Windows still accepts their Alt sequences, and many finance professionals learned Excel on them. Excel for Mac ignores them; RibbonBridge adds them back.
| Windows | On Mac | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt E S | ⌥ES | Paste Special… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt E D | ⌥ED | Delete… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt I R / C | ⌥IR / C | Insert rows / columns | RibbonBridge |
| Alt O C A | ⌥OCA | AutoFit column | RibbonBridge |
| Alt O C W | ⌥OCW | Column width… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt O R A | ⌥ORA | AutoFit row | RibbonBridge |
| Alt O R E | ⌥ORE | Row height… | RibbonBridge |
| Alt D F F | ⌥DFF | Filter on / off | RibbonBridge |
| Alt D P | ⌥DP | PivotTable… | RibbonBridge |
Popular shortcuts explained
- Paste Values shortcut in Excel for Mac
- AutoFit column width shortcut in Excel for Mac
- Alt E S (Paste Special) on Mac
Other menus
Every other ribbon menu works the same way: Excel's KeyTips get you to the menu, and RibbonBridge letters its items. Where Windows uses a known letter, RibbonBridge uses the same one; anything else gets a letter from its name, shown right next to the item. Inside a menu the arrow keys and Return keep working too.
Get your Alt shortcuts back on Mac. RibbonBridge is a small Mac app for Excel: 7 days free with just your email, then €15 once.
Start 7-day free trial See pricingLetters checked against published Windows Excel KeyTip lists and Excel for Mac (Microsoft 365, version 16.113) in October 2026. Excel's own letters can change with Excel updates.