Excel shortcut add row

What is Insert Row in Excel?

The insertion of an excel row is simply the addition of a new (blank) row to the worksheet. The insertion of a row is eased with the help of shortcuts. A shortcut reduces the time taken to perform a task. This is because pressing a single key or combinations of keys help shorten an otherwise lengthy process.

For example, while working on some financial entries, a bank executive noticed that a row containing the totals of the columns is missing. A quick insertion of a blank row is carried out with the help of the shortcut keys “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+).”

Shortcuts considerably improve the productivity of the Excel users. These shortcuts need not be memorized. This is because, with regular usage, one tends to learn them.

This article discusses the major shortcuts of inserting a row in Excel. For better clarity, all techniques have been explained with the help of examples.

Top 3 Keyboard Shortcuts to Insert a Row in Excel

The top three shortcuts to insert a row in Excel are listed as follows:

1. “Ctrl+plus sign (+)” or “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+)”
2. “Insert” dialog box
3. “ALT+I+R”

Use the shortcut which works on your device and is easy to be applied. Once the insertion of a row is complete, one can press F4 to repeat the last task.

Let us consider some examples to understand the working of these excel shortcutsAn Excel shortcut is a technique of performing a manual task in a quicker way.read more.

Example #1–Insert a Row Using “Ctrl+Plus Sign (+)” or “Ctrl+Shift+Plus Sign (+)”

The following image shows the names (column A) and the date of birth (column B) of ten people. We want to perform the following tasks:

• Insert a new row 6 with the shortcuts “Ctrl+plus sign (+)” or “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+).”
• Show how to format the newly inserted row (row 6).

Example #2–Insert a Row Using the “Insert” Dialog Box

Working on the data of example #1, we want to insert a new row 6 with the “insert” dialog box. Use the shortcut method.

The steps to insert a row with the “insert” dialog box are listed as follows:

Step 1: Select any cell of row 6. Press the keys “Ctrl+plus sign (+)” or “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+).” The keys of each shortcut must be pressed together.

The “insert” dialog box opens with both these shortcuts. The succeeding image shows the result of using the former shortcut [Ctrl+plus sign (+)].

Note 1: The shortcut “Ctrl+plus sign (+)” works with keyboards having a numeric pad on the right side. The shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+)” works on all the regular keyboards.

Note 2: If a cell is selected prior to pressing the preceding shortcuts (entered in step 1), the “insert” dialog box is displayed. However, if a row is selected, these shortcuts insert a new row directly.

Step 2: The “insert” dialog box displays the following options:

• Shift cells right: This shifts the content of the selected cell (selected in step 1) to the cell on the immediate right.
• Shift cells down: This shifts the content of the selected cell (selected in step 1) to the immediately following cell.
• Entire row: This inserts a new row preceding the row of the selected cell (selected in step 1).
• Entire column: This inserts a new column to the immediate left of the selected cell (selected in step 1).

Since we want to insert excel row 6, we select the option “entire row.” A new, blank row 6 is inserted, as shown in the following image. With this insertion, the entries of the initial row 6 shift to row 7.

Example #3–Insert a Row Using “ALT+I+R”

Working on the data of example #1, we want to insert a new row 6 with the shortcut “Alt+I+R.”

The steps to insert a row with the shortcut “Alt+I+R” are listed as follows:

Step 1: Select any cell of row 6. We have selected cell A6, as shown in the following image. Alternatively, one can select the entire row 6 with the help of “Shift+spacebar.”

Step 2: Press the keys “ALT+I+R” to insert a new row. A blank row 6 is inserted, as shown in the following image. With this insertion, the entries of the initial row 6 shift to row 7.

Note: The shortcut “ALT+I+R” does not work in all the versions of Excel. It works only in the modern versions of Excel.

How to Insert Multiple Rows Using a Shortcut Key?

Let us consider an example to understand the insertion of multiple rowsThe top four methods to insert multiple rows are in excel are — Using INSERT Option, Using shortcut Key — shift + space bar, Copy & Paste Method, Using the Name Box.
read more with the help of shortcuts. For inserting multiple rows, one must know beforehand the number of rows to be inserted. This is because Excel inserts the same number of rows as the initial rows selected.

Example #4–Insert Multiple Rows Using “Ctrl+Plus Sign (+)” or “Ctrl+Shift+Plus Sign (+)”

Working on the data of example #1, we want to insert five rows (row 6 to row 10) beginning from row 6. Use the shortcut method.

The steps to insert multiple rows by using shortcuts are listed as follows:

Step 1: Select rows 6 to 10. This is because we want to insert five rows starting from row 6. The rows can be selected in either of the following ways:

• Select cell A6. Hold the “Shift” key and press the down arrow to select the cells A6 to A10. Press “Shift+spacebar” to select rows 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 in one go.
• Press and drag the left button of the mouse on the row numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The selected rows are shown in the following image.

Step 2: Once the required number of rows is selected, press the keys “Ctrl+plus sign (+)” or “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+).” The keys of each shortcut need to be pressed together.

In the succeeding image, the rows 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are inserted with the keys “Ctrl+plus sign (+).” Hence, five blank rows are inserted beginning with row 6. With this insertion, the entries of the initial rows 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are shifted downwards to rows 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.

Note 1: Use the shortcut “Ctrl+plus sign (+)” on the keyboard having a separate numeric keypad. On a regular keyboard, use the shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+plus sign (+).”

Note 2: If multiple rows are selected, both the preceding shortcuts (pressed in step 2) insert multiple rows. Since the number of inserted rows is the same as the number of rows selected initially, one must make the selections carefully (in step 1).

Frequently Asked Questions 

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to inserting a row in Excel. Here we discuss how to insert a row or rows using the top 3 shortcut methods and step-by-step examples.You may learn more about Excel from the following articles–

• VBA Insert RowTo insert rows we use worksheet method with the insert command to insert a row, we also provide a row reference where we want to insert another row similar to the columns.read more
• Deleting Row Excel Shortcut
• Excel Rows to ColumnsRows can be transposed to columns by using paste special method and the data can be linked to the original data by simply selecting ‘Paste Link’ form the paste special dialog box. It could also be done by using INDIRECT formula and ADDRESS functions.read more
• How to Convert Columns to Rows?There are two ways to convert columns to rows: 1) using the Excel Ribbon Method. 2) The Mouse Method.read more
• How to Create an Excel Spreadsheet?To create an excel spreadsheet, do the following: 1.Open MS Excel 2.Select New from the Menu dropdown list 3. Click the Blank workbook button to start a new worksheet. The keyboard shortcut for this is Ctrl + N.read more

Excel Add Rows Shortcut (Table of Contents)

• Introduction to Add Rows in Excel Shortcut
• Shortcut Methods of Adding Rows in Excel

Introduction to Add Rows in Excel Shortcut

Excel is all but nothing without its cells, rows, and columns. Isn’t it right? You couldn’t do anything without these three aspects of Excel as they define the layout, structure whatever you call it; for Excel. One of these three major aspects is Excel Rows. We should be well aware of how to add rows in Excel in case we needed those to add. Shortcuts will reduce time and increases productivity as well. We will teach you a way through this article about how to add rows in Excel. What is the shortcut to do so as well?

How to Add Rows in Excel using Shortcut?

Adding or deleting rows as well as columns in Excel is a day to day task for anyone who works on the tool. It would be great if we know the shortcut to do so, since having an idea of how to add rows in Excel with a shortcut, we may be able to save the time, which can be utilized for any other productivity measure as well as the task will be completed quickly due to the reduced time bounds.

There are two shortcuts in Excel to add Rows in Excel. If the keyboard you are using has a number pad on the rightmost side of it, you may use the Ctrl button and “+” button together to add a row/s in Excel.

If your keyboard doesn’t have that number pad and you are worried about how to add a row in Excel, don’t worry; there is another shortcut key for such cases. You can press the Shift button, Ctrl button and “=” button simultaneously to insert a row/s in Excel worksheet.

In this article, we will walk you through some shortcut methods of adding rows in Excel.

Shortcut Methods of Adding Rows in Excel

We will discuss some shortcut methods of adding rows in Excel.

You can download this Add Rows in Excel Shortcut Template here – Add Rows in Excel Shortcut Template

Method #1 – Insert Row in Excel

Consider an example shown below where we have a list of the employee with their First Name, Last Name and Salary details in three different columns. See the screenshot below:

Now, to insert a row, we first need to navigate towards a cell. Suppose we wanted to add a row after the 4^th cell. Move towards the 4^th cell of the Excel worksheet.

Now, right-click on the cell selected (i.e. 4^th cell), and then you’ll see a series of options as shown in the screenshot below:

You could see a series of options under the pane that opens up as soon as you right-click on the selected cell. Out of all those options, choose Insert… option to be able to insert a row in the given sheet before the 4^th cell.

A new window named as Insert will open up with series of options, as shown in the screenshot below. Click on the OK button and see what happens.

If you press the OK key with the current option “Shift cells down”, You’ll be seeing cells 4^th and below to that are shifted below by one position, and a new blank cell is appearing as a 4^th cell. See the screenshot below:

This is not the ideal way, though; we are not getting an entire blank row on the 4^th position of the sheet. This is because we have chosen the option of “Shift cells down”. Instead of that, if you select the option as “Entire row”, you’ll be able to insert an entirely new row in the 4^th position.

See the screenshot below, where the entire row is added on the 4^th position when you choose the “Entire row” option under the Insert window.

Now, after we have successfully added a row at the 4^th position, what if we wanted to add multiple blank cells? Do we need to repeat the procedure again and again? Isn’t it going to be a time-consuming task?

Well, off course, it will be a time-consuming job if you repeat the procedure again and again. You, however, can eliminate this task by some single keystrokes.

Just select the blank cell you just inserted and press F4 to add one more blank row above that cell. This way, you can insert multiple rows at the same time using a single keyboard shortcut.

Method #2 – Shortcut to Add a Row in Excel

In this example, we will look at the shortcut method of adding rows in Excel. This method saves your time which leads to improved productivity.

Step 1: Select the entire row above which you wanted to add a new blank row. This can be done with a keyboard shortcut Shift + Space bar. Select the fifth row by navigating towards A5 and press the Shift + Space button.

Step 2: Now, press Shift, Ctrl, and Plus sign key together to add a new blank row before the 5^th row selected.

Step 3: Now, you can press F4 to add more blank rows. Whatever number of rows you want to add, press F4 that much time.

Here, we tried to add one blank row using a keyboard shortcut and then using F4 to increase the number of blank rows. Is there any other way to add multiple rows in a single shot? Yes, there absolutely is a way to do so.

Step 4: Select the number of rows that you wanted to add blank rows for. Select three rows as shown in the screenshot below. You can use the Shift + Space bar to select the number of rows.

Step 5: Now, the same way we deed in step 3, use Shift, Ctrl, and Plus sign to add three blank rows straight in the given sheet.

These are few shortcuts to add blank rows in Excel using keyboard keystrokes. Let’s wrap this article with some points to be remembered.

Things to Remember

• If your keyboard has a number pad on the right-hand side, you can use Ctrl + (Plus Sign) to add the rows. However, if there is no number pad, you need to press Shift + Ctrl + (Plus Sign) through your keyboard.
• F4 keyboard button helps you to repeat the action of adding rows in Excel. Given that a row is already added.
• To add multiple rows in a single shot, you need to select multiple rows and press the keyboard shortcut.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Add Rows in Excel Shortcut. Here we discuss How to Add Rows in Excel Shortcut along with practical examples and downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –

1. Excel Freeze Rows
2. ROWS Function in Excel
3. Excel Columns to Rows
4. VBA Insert Row