Shortcut Keys to Add Rows in Excel
Shortcut to add rows in excel we have a simple key i.e. Ctrl and + sign. If your keyboard has a number pad to the right of the keyboard then you can use Ctrl and + sign but if you don’t have a number pad then you need to press the excel shortcut key Ctrl and Shift and = sign.
When it comes to excel, the basic ingredients are cells, rows, and columns. One should be well versed with these three elements to work well in excel. In this article, we will show you one of the important methods of adding rows in using the shortcut keys.
How to Add Rows in Excel using Shortcut Keys?
When we work with MS Excel, one of the major tasks of adding or deleting the rows and columns, so you should be well versed with these aspects and shortcut is the way to go forward.
The reason we are talking about shortcuts is that it will increase productivity, and jobs will be done quickly than manual efforts. Hence, shortcuts are the key elements to increase your productivity in excel.
Example #1
Now for an example, look at the below data in excel worksheet.
- Step 1: Before adding a new row, it is quite important to know where we need to add the row; let’s say we need to add a row after the 3rd row, then first we need to select the row after the 3rd row.
- Step 2: Now right-click on the 4th row(Midmarket) and select the “Insert” option.
- Step 3: It will show the below option dialogue box.
It is quite important to understand this “Insert” dialogue box. We have four options: “Shift cells right, Shift cells down, Entire row, Entire column.”

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- Step 4: As of now, we have the option selected “Shift cells down” click on “Ok” and see what happens.
Because we have selected the option of “Shift cells down,” it has shifted the selected cell to the down cell but not the entire row, so whenever you do this operation, it is important to remind about this. If this goes unnoticed, all the data will be wrongly organized.
- Step 5: Since we are inserting a new row all together, we need to choose “Entire Row” in the “Insert” dialogue box. Now click on “Ok.”
It will shift the entire row data to the below row by adding a new row in the selected row cell.
Now for an example, you want to insert one more row. You need not perform all these actions again; instead, you can press the F4 key by selecting the row you want to push below.
You must be wondering how this has happened. This is because of the function key “F4”. This function key will repeat the previous set of activities performed in the worksheet.
Example #2
The above might be confusing because of four options in the “Insert” window to show you an easy method now. Rather than just selecting the row cell to select the entire row only.
- Step 1: To select the entire row, press the shortcut key Shift + Space key, and it will select the entire row you.
Shortcut Key to Select Entire Row:
- Step 2: Now press the shortcut key Ctrl & Plus sign, and it will insert a new row you by pushing the selected row to the below row.
Shortcut Key to Add New Row:
- Step 3: Now, similarly, press the F4 function key to repeat the previous action performed in excel. So the number of times you press the F4 key the number of times it will insert the new row for you (if any other action is not performed after inserting the row).
Example #3
Insert More than One Row
What if you want to insert multiple rows at once? We cannot do this numerous times. So, we have a technique to encounter this as well.
- Step 1: For example, if you want to insert three rows at once, select those many rows first.
- Step 2: Now, press the shortcut key and see the magic.
So, as soon as you press the shortcut key, it has pushed all the selected rows down, and those many new rows are inserted. Like this, by using shortcut methods, we can insert rows at will.
Things to Remember Here
- Shortcut key may vary from keyboard to keyboard; if the keyboard has a number pad, then we can press Ctrl & Plus sign or else we need to press Ctrl & Shift & Equal sign.
- F4 function repeat the previous action.
- We can insert as many rows as we have selected before pressing the shortcut key. If you select two rows, then two rows will be inserted, and if you have selected three rows, then three rows will be inserted, like this it works.
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to Add Rows in Excel Using Shortcut keys. Here we discuss shortcut keys for adding rows in excel along with examples and a downloadable template. You may learn more about excel from the following articles –
- Excel Pivot Table Add Column
- Insert Shortcut in Excel
- Rows Excel Function
- How to Sum Multiple Rows in Excel?
- Status Bar in Excel
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