Module 01 — Navigation Speed

Goal

Operate Excel without the mouse. Speed in modeling is mostly navigation and selection speed; the formulas are the easy part.

Shortcuts featured

Ctrl+Arrow, Ctrl+Shift+Arrow, Ctrl+Space/Shift+Space, Ctrl+Home/End, Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn, name-box jump, F2, F4 (toggle absolute/relative), F9 (evaluate selection), Alt+=, Ctrl+D/Ctrl+R, Ctrl+Enter, Ctrl+;, Ctrl+Alt+V, Ctrl+1, Ctrl+[/Ctrl+], Ctrl+`, F5→Special, Alt+Shift+→/← (group/ungroup), freeze panes. Mac: swap Ctrl→Cmd; F4 absolute = Cmd+T; some F-keys need fn.

Concepts featured

• Ctrl+Enter fills a whole selection with one formula in one stroke.
• F4 cycles $A$1 → A$1 → $A1 → A1 while editing a reference — the single most important key for writing one formula that copies correctly.
• Alt+= drops SUM over the obvious range.

Common mistakes

• Reaching for the mouse to select a column — Ctrl+Shift+Down is faster.
• Forgetting F4, so an anchored reference slides off when you fill.
• Using TODAY() (volatile) when you wanted a static stamp — that's Ctrl+;.

Your assignment

Open 01_Navigation_ASSIGNMENT.xlsx and do the keyboard-only drills on the Model tab. The Self-Check tab verifies your end-states.