Unbelievable Strikethrough Shortcut in Excel You’ve Been Missing!

If you work with Excel often, you know how essential quick formatting tools are for boosting efficiency. Among the most underrated Excel features is the strikethrough shortcut—a simple yet powerful way to visually mark data as incomplete, canceled, or overwritten. What if you could apply strikethrough formatting with just a few keystrokes? That’s exactly what we’re covering today: the unbelievable strikethrough shortcut in Excel you’ve been missing.

In this article, we’ll walk you through a game-changing shortcut, explain how to use it, and explore creative ways to improve your data management, reporting, and workflow in Excel. You’ll save time and become a more polished Excel user—right away.

Understanding the Context

Why Strikethrough Formatting Matters in Excel

Before diving into the shortcut, let’s highlight why strikethrough formatting is valuable:

Visually indicate completed, canceled, or obsolete entries
Improve data clarity for reports, invoices, task lists, and tracking sheets
Save time over manually clicking formatting menus or right-clicking

Unbelievable Strikethrough Shortcut in Excel You’ve Been Missing!

Key Insights

Instead of struggling through mid-click sequences, mastering the right keyboard shortcut transforms how you edit transparent data directly.

The Ultimate Strikethrough Shortcut You’ve Been Missing

What’s the Shortcut?

The fastest way to apply strikethrough formatting in Excel is:
Ctrl + 5

Yes—just press Ctrl + 5 while your cursor is positioned on the cell or cells you want to format. Instantly, your selected range gets a light, dashed line beneath the text, visually signaling “strikethrough.”

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Now use the identity $ \sin(2\theta) = 2\sin\theta \cos\theta $, so: \sin^2(2\theta) = 4\sin^2\theta \cos^2\theta \Rightarrow \sin^2\theta \cos^2\theta = \frac{1}{4} \sin^2(2\theta). f(\theta) = 1 - 6 \cdot \frac{1}{4} \sin^2(2\theta) = 1 - \frac{3}{2} \sin^2(2\theta).

Final Thoughts

How It Works

Ctrl + 5 applies strikethrough formatting permanently to selected cells.
Works same on blank cells or when editing existing text.
Integrates seamlessly with Excel’s Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) for faster access once set up.

How to Set Up the Strikethrough Shortcut for Quick Access

To make the shortcut even easier to use daily:

Customize your Quick Access Toolbar:
- Click the ↑ arrow on QAT.
- Choose More Commands.
- Search for “Strikethrough” (or “Bold+Strikethrough” if grouped).
- Add it to QAT for one-click formatting.
Assign a keyboard shortcut (via Excel Options):
While Excel doesn’t support changing Ctrl + 5 via settings directly, you can use third-party tools like AutoHotkey to create a keyboard shortcut that runs Ctrl+5. This is ideal for power users who want hotkeys tailored to their workflow.

Creative Uses of Strikethrough in Excel

Once you master this shortcut, the possibilities are endless:

Accounting: Cross out paid installments or canceled expenses.
Task Management: Indicate completed items or overdue tasks.
Inventory Updates: Mark out discontinued items or re-stocked goods.
Reports & Dashboards: Differentiate actual data vs. archived entries.
Team Collaboration: Signal actions requiring review or rework.