Changing Font Size Using a Shortcut Key

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 31, 2018)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


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One of the interesting shortcut keys in Excel is the one that allows you to change the point size of the selected cells. The shortcut key is Ctrl+Shift+P, but exactly how the shortcut functions depends on what you have displayed on the screen.

This may sound odd, but you can try it out. If you have the Formatting toolbar displayed (as most people do), then pressing Ctrl+Shift+P selects the Font Size control on the toolbar. You can then type the font size you want to use and press Enter. (Pretty handy if you don't want to take your hands off the keyboard.)

If you don't have the Formatting toolbar displayed for some reason, then it seems obvious that the Font Size control can't be selected—it isn't even visible. Instead, pressing Ctrl+Shift+P results in the Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box being displayed.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3373) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is eight less than 8?

2018-10-02 12:08:00

Ed Sproull

For me (Office 365, MSO (16.0.10730.20102 32 bit) CTRL-SHIFT-P opens the font dialog and then ALT-S selects the font size drop down. I then use the up and down arrow to select the size I want and ENTER to finish.


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