Office Settings & Configuration

How to Customize Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft Excel

Aamir Naveed Akram Oct 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user is looking for a way to customize keyboard shortcuts for built-in commands in Excel, similar to the feature available in Microsoft Word.

How to Customize Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft Excel

Product: Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to reassign custom hotkeys to standard Excel commands via the Options menu.
Observed behavior: Excel does not feature the 'Customize Keyboard' button found in Microsoft Word's Options menu, preventing direct shortcut reassignment for built-in commands.

Before you start

Before proceeding, note that Excel does not natively support reassigning default keyboard shortcuts for standard commands from the Options menu. However, you can achieve similar results by utilizing macro recordings or the Quick Access Toolbar.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Macros to Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

Although you cannot change default shortcuts directly, you can record a macro that performs the desired built-in command and assign a custom keyboard shortcut to that macro.

This workaround allows you to bind specific key combinations to almost any action in Excel. By saving the macro to your Personal Macro Workbook, the shortcut can be made available across all your Excel files.

Enable the Developer Tab

Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon. In the right pane, check the box next to 'Developer' and click OK.

Start Recording a Macro

Navigate to the Developer tab on the ribbon and click on 'Record Macro'.

Assign a Custom Shortcut Key

In the Record Macro dialog box, type a name for the macro. In the 'Shortcut key' field, enter your desired key (e.g., Shift + [Letter] to create a Ctrl+Shift shortcut).

Record the Command and Stop

Perform the exact sequence of clicks or actions for the built-in command you want to trigger. Once done, go back to the Developer tab and click 'Stop Recording'.

Shortcut Conflicts: If you assign a shortcut that is already used by a default Excel command (like Ctrl+C), your custom macro shortcut will override the default one while that workbook is active.

Solution 2

Use the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) for Alt Shortcuts

Adding a command to the Quick Access Toolbar automatically assigns it a sequential keyboard shortcut using the Alt key.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't Excel have the Customize Keyboard option like Word does?

Microsoft Word and Excel were built on different underlying software architectures. Word includes a robust built-in dialog for mapping commands to keystrokes, whereas Excel relies on VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), macros, and the Quick Access Toolbar for user-defined actions.

Will my custom macro shortcuts work in all my Excel files?

By default, a custom shortcut assigned to a macro only works within the specific workbook where it was created. To make the shortcut available across all your Excel files, you must save the macro in the Personal Macro Workbook (Personal.xlsb).

How do I remove or change a custom keyboard shortcut I created?

Go to the Developer tab and click 'Macros'. Select the macro associated with the shortcut and click 'Options'. In the dialog box, delete or change the character in the 'Shortcut key' field and click OK to restore default behaviors.

Are there third-party tools to customize Excel shortcuts?

Yes. Advanced users often use keyboard utility workarounds like AutoHotkey or specialized Excel add-ins to remap keys and create global shortcuts that trigger Excel-specific commands without writing VBA code.

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