Undo, redo, or repeat an action (2024)

Undo an action

To undo an action press Ctrl+Z on your keyboard, or selectUndo on the Quick Access Toolbar. You can press Undo (or Ctrl+Z) repeatedly if you want to undo multiple steps.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (1)

Note:For more information about the Quick Access Toolbar, see Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

You can't undo some actions, such as selecting commands on the File tab or saving a file. If you can't undo an action, the Undo command changes to Can't Undo.

To undo several actions at the same time, select the arrow next to Undo Undo, redo, or repeat an action (2), select the actions in the list that you want to undo, and then select the list.

Tip:If you're not able to undo the changes you wish to revert, you may be able to restore a previous version of the file. See Restore a previous version of a file in OneDrive or OneDrive for Business

Redo an action

To redo something you've undone, press Ctrl+Y or F4. (If F4 doesn't seem to work, you may need to press the F-Lock key or Fn Key, then F4) on your keyboard, or selectRedo on the Quick Access toolbar. (The Redo button only appears after you've undone an action.)

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (3)

Note:For more information about the Quick Access Toolbar, see Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

Repeat an action

To repeat something simple, such as a paste operation, press Ctrl+Y or F4 (If F4 doesn't seem to work, you may need to press the F-Lock key or Fn Key, then F4) on your keyboard, or selectRepeat on the Quick Access Toolbar.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (4)

Notes:

  • By default, the Repeat command Undo, redo, or repeat an action (5) is not available on the Quick Access Toolbar in Excel. If you want to repeat the last action, you need to add the Repeat command to the Quick Access Toolbar first. See Add a command to the Quick Access Toolbar that isn’t on the ribbon for steps.

  • Some actions, such as using a function in a cell in Excel, can’t be repeated. If you can't repeat the last action, the Repeat command changes to Can't Repeat.

Excel and all other Office programs have a default undo/redo maximum of 100 actions. However, you can change this by adding an entry in the Microsoft Windows registry.

Important:Remember that some actions, such as clicking commands on the File tab or saving a file, can't be undone, and running a macro in Excel will clear the undo stack, making the action unavailable.

Warning:Increasing the number of undo levels should be done with caution and moderation: the more you increase the number of undo levels, the more random access memory (RAM) Excel requires to store the undo history, which affects the performance of Excel.

The following procedure uses the Registry Editor to change the number of undo levels for Excel, although you can do the same in Word or PowerPoint.

  1. Close any Office programs that are running.

  2. In Windows 10 or Windows 8, right-click (or long-press) the Start button, and then selectRun.

  3. In the search box or the Run window, type regedit and press Enter.

    Depending on your version of Windows, you may be asked to confirm that you want to open Registry Editor.

  4. In Registry Editor, expand one of the following registry subkeys, as appropriate for the version of Excel that you are running:

    • Excel 2016: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options

  5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then selectDWORD Value. Select New Value #1, type UndoHistory, and then press ENTER.

  6. On the Edit menu, selectModify.

  7. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, selectDecimal under Base. Type a value in the Value box, selectOK, and then exit Registry Editor.

  8. Start Excel. Excel stores an undo history for the number of actions that you specified in step 7.

Related links

Customize the Quick Access Toolbar (Windows)

Configure or turn off automatic text formatting (AutoFormat)

Undo an action

Press Undo, redo, or repeat an action (6)+ Z, or selectUndo in the upper-left corner of the ribbon, until you've fixed the issue.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (7)

You can't undo some actions, such as selecting commands on the File menu or saving a file. If you can't undo an action, the Undo command changes to Can't Undo.

To undo several actions at the same time, selectthe arrow next to Undo, select the actions in the list that you want to undo, and then selectthe list.

Tip:If you're not able to undo the changes you wish to revert, you may be able to restore a previous version of the file. See Restore a previous version of a file in OneDrive or OneDrive for Business

Redo an action

To redo something you've undone, press Undo, redo, or repeat an action (8)+ Y, or selectRedo in the upper-left corner of the ribbon. (The Redo button only appears after you've undone an action.)

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (9)

Repeat an action

To repeat something simple, such as a paste operation, press Undo, redo, or repeat an action (10)+ Y, or selectRepeat in the upper-left corner of the ribbon.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (11)

In Word for the web,PowerPoint for the web, and Excel for the web, you can undo or redo basic actions. More advanced options are available in desktop versions of Office.

Undo an action

Press Ctrl+Z or select Undo, redo, or repeat an action (12) (Undo) in the ribbon until you've fixed the issue.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (13)

You can't undo some actions, such as selectingcommands on the File tab or saving a file. If you can't undo an action, the Undo command is dimmed. Undo, redo, or repeat an action (14).

Tip:If you're not able to undo the changes you wish to revert, you may be able to restore a previous version of the file. See Restore a previous version of a file in OneDrive or OneDrive for Business

Redo an action

To redo something you've undone, press Ctrl+Y or select Undo, redo, or repeat an action (15) (Redo) in the ribbon.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (16)

Repeat an action

To repeat something simple, such as a paste operation, press Ctrl+Y on your keyboard orselect Repeat on the Home tab.

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (17)

Undo, redo, or repeat an action (2024)
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