What is the shortcut to display the function argument dialog box?

Once you had selected the function you needed from Excel insert function dialog box, Excel will display Excel Function arguments dialog box. You can input the required arguments for the selected function using Excel Function arguments dialog box.

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About This Article
About the book author:
This article can be found in the category:
Get help entering Excel functions with a keyboard shortcut
How do you open the Function Arguments dialog box?
Which shortcut key should you use to display the function dialog box?
What is the Function Arguments dialog box?
How do I get the function argument window in Excel?

You may open Excel insert function dialog box from Formulas tab in Excel Ribbon as shown below.

You may find the function you require from Excel insert function dialog box from Formulas tab in Excel Ribbon as shown below.

Once you had selected the function you require from Excel insert function dialog box, Excel Function arguments dialog box is displayed as shown below. In this example, I had selected Excel SUM function.

If you are typing-in the Excel function in Worksheet manually, without using Excel insert function dialog box, you may also use the shortcut key combination Control + A to display Function arguments dialog box.

Once Function arguments dialog box is open, you may type-in the arguments you require for the selected Excel function in Excel Function arguments dialog box. Excel Function arguments dialog box shows a small description about the required arguments also.

Different Excel functions have different types of Function arguments dialog box, based on the arguments they require. It is much easy to find the required function and input the required arguments using Excel Function arguments dialog box.

Written by Jajish Thomas.
Last updated on 27th January, 2022.

Excel makes entering functions with the Insert Function dialog box easy. But what do you do when you need to change a function that has already been entered in a cell? What about adding arguments or taking some away? There is an easy way to do this! Follow these steps:

Click the cell with the existing function.
Click the Insert Function button.
The Function Argument dialog box appears. This dialog box is already set to work with your function. In fact, the arguments that have already been entered in the function are displayed in the dialog box as well!
Add, edit, or delete arguments, as follows:
- To add an argument (if the function allows), use the RefEdit control to pick up the extra values from the worksheet. Alternatively, if you click the bottom argument reference, a new box opens below it, and you can enter a value or range in that box.
- To edit an argument, simply click it and change it.
- To delete an argument, click it and press the Backspace key.
Click OK when you're finished.
The function is updated with your changes.

About This Article

About the book author:

Ken Bluttman is a veteran software and web developer specializing in Excel/VBA and database-centric web applications. He has written articles and books on topics like Office/VBA development, XML, SQL Server, and InfoPath. Ken is the author of Excel Charts For Dummies and all previous editions of Excel Formulas & Functions For Dummies.

This article can be found in the category:

Excel ,

on December 6, 2011, 11:41 PM PST

Get help entering Excel functions with a keyboard shortcut

This keyboard shortcut displays function arguments, syntax, and helps guide you through the input process.

There are numerous ways to enter a function and the trick is to find the method that makes you efficient. Knowing a function’s syntax is part of working efficiently, but who can remember the syntax for every function they use? Don’t even try – just let Excel guide you through the process instead.

You probably know about the Fx feature’s autocomplete capability, which helps you choose the appropriate function. In addition, you can click Fx in the Formula bar to display the Insert Function dialog, which displays information about a function’s arguments and syntax. What you might not know about is the [Ctrl]+[Shift]+a shortcut that completes a function by displaying its arguments.

Let’s work through an example, step-by-step:

Enter the function’s name and the opening parenthesis, say, =pmt(. (The period is the end of the sentence and not part of the function name.)
Press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+a, and Excel will display the function’s arguments and select the first argument.
Press [Enter] to enter the function and its argument names.
Click inside the Formula bar and Excel will display ScreenTip links to each argument. Click rate in the ScreenTip and Excel will highlight the rate argument in your function.
Enter .05/12 to represent a 5% annual interest rate.
At this point, you could manually highlight the next argument, but you don’t have to. Instead, click the linked argument, nper, in the ScreenTip and Excel will highlight that argument for you.
Enter 5*12 to denote a five-year loan.
Click the third argument, pv, and enter 10000, to represent the loan’s value.
You’ve entered all the required arguments, so delete the two optional arguments and press [Enter].

Some people won’t like the back and forth switching between the keyboard and the mouse, but for those who don’t mind, this is a helpful guide for entering a function’s arguments.

Software

How do you open the Function Arguments dialog box?

For a list of available functions, click a cell and press SHIFT+F3, which will launch the Insert Function dialog. 3. Arguments.

Which shortcut key should you use to display the function dialog box?

SHIFT+F3 In a formula, display the Insert Function dialog box. CTRL+A When the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula, display the Function Arguments dialog box. CTRL+SHIFT+A When the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula, insert the argument names and parentheses.

What is the Function Arguments dialog box?

The Function Arguments dialog box displays. This dialog guides you through entering the arguments for the function, depending on the number and type of arguments required for the selected function. Note: Some functions do not use arguments, and in this case, the function is inserted directly into the Rules Editor.

How do I get the function argument window in Excel?

Ctrl+A – opens the Function Arguments window immediately after typing the name of the function. For example, type =SUM, and press Ctrl+A to open the Function Arguments window. The function arguments window will appear.