Alt N X on Mac: Text Box in Excel

To run Text Box with Alt N X in Excel on a Mac, install LightningXL, tap Option, then type N, X. The same keys as Windows, with the same result.

Step by step

1. Install LightningXL

   Download LightningXL, then follow the instructions. Setup takes about two minutes.

2. Select what to act on

   Click a cell, or select the range the command should apply to.

3. Tap Option, then type N X

   Tap ⌥ on its own to show the keytips, then N for Insert, X for Text Box.

What Alt N X does

Text Box sits on the Insert tab of the Excel ribbon. On Windows, Alt N X runs it from the keyboard. Excel for Mac has the same ribbon but no Alt key, so without LightningXL you click through Insert › Text Box instead.

Related shortcuts

The rest of the Insert tab in Excel:

• ⌥NSF Slicer
• ⌥NST Timeline
• ⌥NI Link
• ⌥NC2 New Comment
• ⌥NH Header & Footer
• ⌥NW WordArt
• ⌥NJ Object
• ⌥NE Equation