alt = in excel on mac

Question

alt = in excel on mac

Nix Wanties 5

was told to use Shift Command T to sum something up but it is not working. im coming from Wxwl in winsowa to excel on macbook AIR M5

Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 438.5K Reputation points

2026-10-31T19:55:47.87+00:00

Although that shortcut is used by the OS in Finder windows & some Apple programs [typically to show/hide menu bars, tab bars, or specific palettes] ] it doesn't override its assignment in Excel. IOW, the Excel assignment takes precedent. There must be some other reason for it not providing the result you expect.

Please explain what – if anything – it does in Excel along with the exact steps you're taking.

The most likely cause is that the cells to be summed were formatted as TEXT before the numbers were entered. Test in a new workbook or other area/sheet where cells are formatted as GENERAL or a valid number format before entering the test values to see if you encounter the same problem. Provide your result here including the present Version Number of both macOS & Office.

Less likely is that the shortcut has been reassigned or removed. Go to Tools> Customize Keyboard, select Formulas Tab in the left column, select AutoSum in the right column then see what appears in the Current keys field.

2 answers

Your answer

Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 438.5K Reputation points

2026-10-31T19:55:47.87+00:00

Although that shortcut is used by the OS in Finder windows & some Apple programs [typically to show/hide menu bars, tab bars, or specific palettes] ] it doesn't override its assignment in Excel. IOW, the Excel assignment takes precedent. There must be some other reason for it not providing the result you expect.

Please explain what – if anything – it does in Excel along with the exact steps you're taking.

The most likely cause is that the cells to be summed were formatted as TEXT before the numbers were entered. Test in a new workbook or other area/sheet where cells are formatted as GENERAL or a valid number format before entering the test values to see if you encounter the same problem. Provide your result here including the present Version Number of both macOS & Office.

Less likely is that the shortcut has been reassigned or removed. Go to Tools> Customize Keyboard, select Formulas Tab in the left column, select AutoSum in the right column then see what appears in the Current keys field.

Answer 1

Select the empty cell directly below the numbers first, then press Shift+Command+T; if that shortcut still does not respond, choose Home → AutoSum or Formulas → AutoSum, then press Return.^1^

Exact steps

Enter the numbers in one column—for example, cells A1:A5.
Select A6, the empty cell immediately below them.
Press all three keys together: Shift (⇧) + Command (⌘) + T.
Excel should insert a formula similar to:
```
   =SUM(A1:A5)
```
Check that the highlighted range is correct, then press Return to calculate the total.

For a row of numbers, select the first empty cell immediately to the right instead.

If the shortcut does nothing

Use either documented alternative:

Select the result cell, then choose Home → AutoSum (Σ) or Formulas → AutoSum, followed by Return.^1^
Or press Option (⌥) + Command (⌘) + =. On a Mac keyboard, Option is the equivalent of the Windows Alt key for this shortcut.^1^

You can also bypass AutoSum by typing the formula directly:

=SUM(A1:A5)

Then press Return.

Keyboard shortcuts documented by Microsoft refer to the US keyboard layout, so the physical key may differ with another keyboard layout.^2^

References

Answer 2

This might be caused by a macOS system shortcut conflict (usually the text-to-speech accessibility feature or a window management shortcut overriding Excel).

To resolve the shortcut conflict, click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings. Scroll down the left sidebar and click Keyboard, then click the Keyboard Shortcuts... button on the right. Review the categories in the left pane, particularly Accessibility and Services, and look for any shortcut assigned to Command + Shift + T (⌘⇧T). One possible cause is the Accessibility > Spoken Content > Speak selection shortcut, which may be assigned to this combination. Uncheck the box next to the conflicting shortcut to disable it, or double-click the shortcut to assign a different key combination. Click Done and try using Command + Shift + T in Excel again.

If you need to use AutoSum right away, there are several alternatives. You can use the legacy Excel menu shortcuts by pressing Control + (the backtick key below Esc), releasing the keys, and then pressing H, U, and S sequentially. Alternatively, open the Home tab on the Excel ribbon, locate the Greek Sigma symbol (∑ AutoSum) toward the right side, and click it. You can also enter the formula manually by typing =SUM(, selecting the range of cells you want to add, and pressing Enter.

If this doesn't resolve the issue, follow https://maccove.com/blog/why-excel-keyboard-shortcuts-dont-work-mac

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin