Use function keys in Excel on a Mac

If you've moved to Excel on a Mac from Windows, the muscle memory breaks fast: F2 to edit a cell, F4 to lock a reference, F9 to recalculate — none of them fire, because the Mac's top row controls brightness and volume by default. Turn on Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys and those Excel shortcuts start working exactly as you expect.

The Excel shortcuts you're missing

Excel's function-key shortcuts are some of the fastest ways to work a spreadsheet, and they're the same on Mac as on Windows once the keys actually reach the app:

• F2 — edit the active cell and drop the cursor at the end of its contents.
• F4 — while editing a formula, cycle a reference through absolute and relative forms (A1 → $A$1 → A$1 → $A1). Outside editing, it repeats your last action.
• F9 — recalculate all open workbooks; select part of a formula first and F9 evaluates just that piece.
• F12 — open Save As.

On a default Mac, pressing F2 dims the display and F9 dims the keyboard backlight, so the spreadsheet never sees the keystroke. The fix isn't in Excel — it's a macOS keyboard setting.

Make the top row send F-keys

1. Open System Settings → Keyboard.
2. Click Keyboard Shortcuts….
3. Select Function Keys in the sidebar.
4. Turn on Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.

It applies immediately, the same way on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia. Jump back into Excel, click a cell, press F2, and you're editing in place; type a reference and tap F4 to lock it with dollar signs.

Only in spreadsheets? Hold Fn instead

If Excel is the only place you need F-keys and you'd rather keep one-touch brightness and volume everywhere else, you don't have to change the setting at all. The Fn key always does the opposite of the current default, so on a stock Mac you can hold Fn and press F2, F4, or F9 for a one-off. Changing the global setting is the better call if you live in spreadsheets all day; the Fn hold is fine for the occasional formula. Either way, with standard keys on, Fn+F1/F2 still adjusts brightness and Fn+F11/F12 still changes volume.

Set it from Terminal

The setting is one global default, useful if you're setting up several finance machines:

# Send F1-F12 by default so Excel gets its shortcuts
defaults write NSGlobalDomain com.apple.keyboard.fnState -bool true

To undo it, write false or delete the key:

# Undo: media keys as the default
defaults write NSGlobalDomain com.apple.keyboard.fnState -bool false
# or remove the key
defaults delete NSGlobalDomain com.apple.keyboard.fnState

The System Settings toggle applies at once; the Terminal route may need a log out and back in (or a restart) to register.

Coming from a PC keyboard?

If you've plugged a Windows keyboard into your Mac, a couple of other keys behave differently too. See how to use a Windows keyboard on Mac to sort out the modifier and F-key layout together.