6. Keyboard Shortcuts and Common Beginner Mistakes

Keys that save hours (they work in this trainer too):

• F2 edits a cell; F4 adds $ to a reference;
• Ctrl+Z undoes; Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V copy and paste;
• Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U apply bold, italic and underline;
• Shift+arrows extend the selection; Ctrl+A selects everything;
• in real Excel there are also Ctrl+arrow to jump to the edge of the data, Ctrl+; for today's date, and Alt+= for AutoSum (on Mac, Ctrl+; works the same and AutoSum is Cmd+Shift+T).

Typical beginner mistakes: typing numbers into formulas instead of cell addresses (=1200*3), merging cells in data tables, storing numbers as text, putting several tables right next to each other on one sheet, and forgetting $ when copying a formula.