How to Do Alt + A E on Mac in Excel (Easiest Way)
đź’ˇ
Quick Answer
To do Alt + A E on Mac in Excel, download and install Accelerator Keys, then press Option, followed by A, E.
Download Accelerator Keys for Free Now
Command: Text to Columns (Data → Data Tools → Text to Columns)
Step-by-Step Guide
- Download and install Accelerator Keys (14-day free trial, no credit card required).
- Follow the simple on-screen setup instructions (just a few clicks).
- Press the Option key (works like Alt on Windows).
- Press A, E to complete the ribbon shortcut.
This is how to do Alt + A E on Mac in Excel with Accelerator Keys, the native ribbon and alt key shortcut solution for Mac users who get more done with Excel.
What Does Alt + A E Do in Excel?
Alt + A E opens the Text to Columns wizard in Excel. This powerful tool splits the contents of a single column into multiple columns based on a delimiter (like commas or spaces) or fixed widths.
How Text to Columns Works
The Text to Columns wizard offers two methods:
Delimited - Split data based on characters like:
- Commas (CSV data)
- Tabs (tab-separated values)
- Semicolons
- Spaces
- Custom characters
Fixed Width - Split data at specific character positions, useful for:
- Legacy data exports
- Fixed-format reports
- Mainframe data
Common Use Cases
- Separating names: Split “John Smith” into “John” and “Smith” columns
- Cleaning imported data: Parse CSV data that ended up in one column
- Splitting addresses: Separate street, city, state, and zip into individual columns
- Date formatting: Split dates into day, month, and year components
- Processing exports: Clean up data exported from other systems
Native Mac Excel Alternative
Without Accelerator Keys, you can access Text to Columns in Mac Excel by:
- Select the column containing data to split
- Go to the Data tab in the ribbon
- Click Text to Columns in the Data Tools group
With Accelerator Keys, just select your data and press Option + A E to open the wizard instantly.
| Shortcut |
Command |
Description |
| Alt + A T |
Filter |
Toggle AutoFilter on/off |
| Alt + A S S |
Sort |
Open Sort dialog |
| Alt + A V |
Data Validation |
Set validation rules for cells |
Related Links