Keyboard shortcuts

ModelXcel Pro adds three distinct kinds of keyboard shortcut: thread-level global combos that work from the grid, contextual shortcuts that fire only inside a specific pane or editor, and Excel ribbon keytips. This section is the authoritative map of all three, grounded in the add-in source.

The three kinds of shortcut

Knowing which kind a shortcut is tells you where it works and why it sometimes does nothing. Every ModelXcel Pro shortcut falls into exactly one of these:

KindHow it’s triggeredWhere it worksExamples
Global (thread-level)A keyboard hook on Excel’s UI thread watches for the Ctrl+Shift and Alt+Shift families and runs the command directly.From the worksheet grid, regardless of which ribbon tab is showing — as long as Excel isn’t mid‑edit or showing a dialog.Ctrl+Shift+J, Alt+Shift+1
ContextualHandled by a pane, form, or editor only while it has keyboard focus.Inside TrustLens, the Formula Editor, Formula Explorer, the Flow Diagram, CalcScope, or the Compare / MCI window.Alt+E, F2, arrow keys
Ribbon keytipsExcel’s built-in key‑tips: press Alt, then the letters that appear on the ribbon.Anywhere the ribbon is active. Keytips drive ribbon buttons; they are not the add-in’s own shortcuts.Alt, X, F, S

Keytips are not the same as global shortcuts

A keytip walks Excel’s ribbon (Alt → tab → button) and is provided by Office. A global shortcut is a single chord (like Ctrl+Shift+J) caught by the add-in’s own hook. Many commands have both; some have only a keytip; a few in‑pane actions have only a contextual shortcut. The pages below keep them clearly separated.

Quick reference

The shortcuts you’ll reach for most. All of these are global — they fire from the grid. See Global shortcuts for the complete set and the exact conditions.

ShortcutActionGroup
Ctrl+Shift+JFormat Selection (Smart Formatting)Format
Ctrl+Shift+QFormat Sheet (Smart Formatting)Format
Ctrl+Shift+XAuto Format (toggle)Format
Ctrl+Shift+IOpen TrustLensFormula Tools
Ctrl+Shift+YClassic Pretty PrintFormula Tools
Ctrl+Shift+WFlow DiagramFormula Tools
Ctrl+Shift+SSensitivityFormula Tools
Ctrl+Shift+RRisk Heatmap (toggle)Map
Alt+Shift+1 … 9Jump to the N‑th precedent of the active cellNavigation
Alt, XOpen the ModelXcel Pro ribbon tab (keytips)Ribbon

To find a shortcut fast, use the filter box at the top of the docs sidebar, or your browser’s Find (Ctrl+F) on any page in this section.

In this section

  • Ribbon keytips — the complete keytip map for every ModelXcel Pro ribbon button, by group (Format, Formula Tools, Name Conversion, Map, Compare, Audit, Proof, Help).
  • Global shortcuts — the thread‑level Ctrl+Shift and Alt+Shift families, the Smart Formatting direct‑style shortcuts, precedent navigation, and the rules that decide when each one applies.
  • Panes & editors — contextual shortcuts inside TrustLens, the Formula Editor, Formula Explorer, the Flow Diagram, CalcScope, and the Compare / Material Change Intelligence window.
  • Settings & conflicts — the Smart Formatting shortcut master toggle, the AltGr rule, when a shortcut is ignored, and troubleshooting.

Caveats worth knowing up front

  • Context matters. A contextual shortcut only works while its pane, form, or editor has focus. The same chord can mean different things in different windows (for example Alt+E toggles the editor in TrustLens but opens the Step Evaluator in CalcScope) — there’s no conflict because only the focused window sees it.
  • Some shortcuts change the workbook or clear Excel’s undo. Smart Formatting writes styles; committing an edit in TrustLens or CalcScope writes a formula and clears Excel’s native undo stack. Those are documented with the feature, not just the key.
  • The Smart Formatting shortcuts can be switched off. A single master toggle in Settings disables all nine of them — see Settings & conflicts.
  • Ctrl+Alt is deliberately never used. On many European keyboard layouts Ctrl+Alt is AltGr, which types characters like @, €, and #. ModelXcel Pro uses Ctrl+Shift and Alt+Shift instead, which survive every layout.

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