Excel Shortcut Keys to Change Sheets: Windows and Mac

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, press Ctrl+Page Up to move to the previous worksheet, or Ctrl+Page Down to move to the next one. On a Mac, use Control+Page Up or Control+Page Down; if your keyboard has no Page Up or Page Down keys, use Fn with Control and the Up or Down arrow.

The shortcut keys and what they do

Excel treats the worksheet tabs in a workbook as an ordered sequence. The two shortcuts move the active selection along that sequence: Page Up goes one tab to the left, and Page Down goes one tab to the right. They do not open a different workbook, scroll through rows, or change the selected cell within a worksheet.

Ctrl+Page Up: activate the worksheet before the current one.
Ctrl+Page Down: activate the worksheet after the current one.

For example, if the tabs are named January, February, and March and February is active, Ctrl+Page Up selects January. Ctrl+Page Down selects March. The cell you were working in on February is not copied or changed; Excel simply displays the other worksheet, usually retaining that sheet’s previous active cell and scroll position.

These shortcuts are especially useful in a workbook with many tabs, where clicking a small tab repeatedly is slower or the desired tab is outside the visible area. They are also helpful when you keep your hands on the keyboard while checking figures across worksheets.

How to use the shortcuts

Click a cell in the workbook if necessary, then press the shortcut once for each worksheet you want to move. You do not need to select a worksheet tab first. The active sheet changes with each press, and the tab Excel has activated is typically highlighted.

Open the workbook and make sure the workbook window is active.
Press Ctrl+Page Down to move right, or Ctrl+Page Up to move left.
Repeat the shortcut to continue through the tab order.

On many Windows laptops, Page Up and Page Down share keys with the arrow keys or other functions. The keyboard may require holding Fn as well, so the combination becomes Ctrl+Fn plus the key that sends Page Up or Page Down. The exact key labels and Fn behavior vary by laptop manufacturer. If the shortcut does not move between sheets, check the keyboard’s printed labels or its documentation.

On a Mac with dedicated Page Up and Page Down keys, press Control with the relevant key. On a MacBook keyboard without those keys, Fn+Up Arrow generally sends Page Up and Fn+Down Arrow sends Page Down; combine that with Control. Keyboard layouts and function-key settings differ, so the on-screen sheet tabs remain a reliable alternative.

Worksheet tabs, workbook windows, and tab order

A worksheet is one tab inside a workbook. A workbook is the whole Excel file, which can contain one or many worksheets. Ctrl+Page Up and Ctrl+Page Down switch worksheets in the active workbook; they do not switch between two separate Excel files or windows. To change workbooks, use the operating system’s window switching controls or select the workbook window you need.

The direction is based on the worksheet tab order, not on names, dates, or the order in which sheets were created. If a workbook has tabs called Summary, 2024 Data, and Notes in that order, Ctrl+Page Down from Summary selects 2024 Data regardless of the text in the tab names. A worksheet moved by dragging its tab will therefore be reached in its new position.

Excel moves through worksheets that are available to select. A hidden worksheet is not an ordinary stop in the visible tab sequence; unhide it first if you need to work on it. A protected worksheet is different: protection can restrict editing, but it does not by itself make the sheet hidden or prevent ordinary navigation to it.

When the shortcut is useful—and when it is not

Use these keys when you want to inspect neighboring tabs quickly, such as comparing monthly totals, checking a department’s worksheets, or moving between an input sheet and a summary sheet. They are a navigation shortcut only: they do not create, delete, rename, reorder, or unhide worksheets.

Some related shortcuts perform different jobs. In Windows Excel, Shift+F11 inserts a new worksheet. It does not move to the previous or next existing tab. Similarly, Ctrl+F6 can move among workbook windows in some Excel contexts, but it is not the sheet-navigation command. If your goal is simply to select another tab in the current file, Ctrl+Page Up and Ctrl+Page Down are the direct choices.

These navigation keys also do not make multiple sheets active together. If several sheet tabs are grouped, Excel may show a group indication in the title bar, and edits to cells can affect all grouped sheets. Grouping is usually created by selecting tabs with Shift-click or Ctrl-click on Windows. Before entering or pasting data, check whether a group is active; to return to a single sheet, click an unselected tab or use the sheet-tab context menu to ungroup sheets.

Mouse and menu alternatives

If a keyboard combination is unavailable, click the worksheet tab you want. When a workbook contains more tabs than fit along the bottom of the window, use the small sheet-navigation controls near the lower-left corner to scroll the tab strip, then select the sheet. Scrolling those controls changes which tabs are visible; it does not necessarily change the active worksheet until you click a tab.

You can also right-click the sheet-navigation arrows near the lower-left edge of the workbook window to display a list of sheets in many desktop versions of Excel. Choose a name from the list to jump directly to it, which can be quicker than stepping through dozens of tabs. The precise layout can vary with window size and Excel version, but the worksheet tabs themselves remain the basic way to select a sheet.

Dragging a worksheet tab changes its position in the workbook. That can make frequently used sheets easier to reach with one or two presses of Ctrl+Page Up or Ctrl+Page Down, but it is a structural change to the workbook, not just a navigation action. If other people rely on a particular tab order, consider whether moving the tab will confuse their workflow.

Common problems and quick checks

If the shortcut appears to do nothing, first confirm that Excel has focus. A dialog box, another application, or an active cell-editing mode can affect what keystrokes do. Press Esc once to leave an unfinished cell edit if appropriate, then try again. Also verify that the intended workbook window—not a different open workbook—is active.

The laptop uses a shared key: try the required Fn combination for Page Up or Page Down.
The wrong workbook is active: click the workbook window, then use the sheet shortcut.
The desired tab is not visible: use the tab-strip navigation arrows or the sheet list; visibility and active selection are not the same thing.
The sheet is hidden: use the sheet-tab context menu’s Unhide command, if available, and select the sheet before navigating to it.
The next tab is not the one expected: check the actual left-to-right tab order; names do not determine shortcut order.

At the first or last worksheet, the shortcut does not provide a dependable wraparound route to the opposite end. If you reach the end of the visible sheet sequence, use the sheet list or select a tab directly instead of repeatedly pressing the key and expecting a circular cycle.

Excel for Mac and Excel for the web

In Excel for Mac, the Control+Page Up and Control+Page Down combinations correspond to the same previous-sheet and next-sheet actions. Mac keyboards vary: a full-size keyboard may have Page Up and Page Down keys, while a compact keyboard may require Fn with the arrow keys to send those page commands. Some Mac function-key settings or keyboard utilities can affect how a key is interpreted, so use the tab-click method if the combination is intercepted.

Excel for the web runs inside a browser, where browser shortcuts can overlap with keyboard commands. If Ctrl+Page Up or Ctrl+Page Down changes browser tabs instead of Excel worksheets, use the worksheet tabs or the sheet navigation controls in the workbook. The web interface and browser can influence shortcut behavior, so desktop instructions should not be assumed to behave identically in every browser.

In all versions, the safest way to confirm what will change is to look at the selected worksheet tab before editing. A navigation shortcut changes which worksheet is active; it does not alter data merely by being pressed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the shortcut to go to the next sheet in Excel?
On Windows, press Ctrl+Page Down to activate the next worksheet to the right. On Mac, use Control+Page Down, adding Fn with the Down Arrow if your keyboard has no dedicated Page Down key.

How do I go back to the previous sheet in Excel?
Press Ctrl+Page Up on Windows. On Mac, use Control+Page Up, or Fn+Control+Up Arrow on a keyboard where Fn+Up sends the Page Up command.

Can I use a shortcut to jump directly to a worksheet by name?
Ctrl+Page Up and Ctrl+Page Down move one worksheet at a time; they do not open a name-entry box. For a distant sheet, use the sheet list available from the navigation arrows or click its tab directly.

Why does Ctrl+Page Down switch browser tabs instead?
In Excel for the web, the browser may capture that key combination. Select the worksheet tab in the workbook instead, or use the workbook’s sheet navigation controls.

Does changing sheets with the shortcut edit my data?
No. The shortcut changes the active worksheet, not the cell contents. However, if several sheets are grouped, edits you make after navigating may apply to the grouped sheets, so check for a group indication before editing.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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