Insert Time Shortcut in Google Sheets

Logging when something happened? You want the current time in the cell as a fixed value, not a clock that keeps ticking.

Google Sheets has a keyboard combo for that. One press stamps the time in.

It’s the same key pattern as the date shortcut, with one extra modifier.

Insert Time Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Insert Time Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + Shift + ;

Insert Time Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + Shift + ;

What this shortcut does

The shortcut writes the current time into the selected cell as a static value. It doesn’t keep ticking. Whatever time you pressed the keys at, that’s what stays in the cell.

Sheets formats the time using your locale. A US locale typically shows something like 3:47:22 PM. A 24-hour locale shows 15:47:22.

Underneath the visible format, the value is a fraction of a day. Noon is 0.5, midnight is 0, 6 PM is 0.75. That matters if you do time math on it.

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Click the cell you want the time to land in.
  2. Press the shortcut. The current time appears.
  3. Press Enter to confirm and move on.

A quick example. You’re tracking when a delivery arrived.

Click the time column for that row.

Press the shortcut. The current time drops in. An hour later, the value still shows the time the package landed. That’s the record you wanted.

Alternative method (typing or the NOW function)

You can type the time in by hand. Sheets recognises 3:47 PM or 15:47 and converts it into a real time value.

For a time that updates every recalculation, use the NOW function:

=NOW()

That returns the current date and time, and it refreshes when the sheet recalculates. Use the shortcut when you want a stamp. Use NOW() when you want a live clock.

Things to watch for

  • Static, not live. The shortcut writes the time as a value. Reopen the sheet an hour from now and the cell still reads what you pressed at the moment of insertion.
  • Mac function keys. The combo uses letter and symbol keys, not function keys, so the fn-row setting on a Mac doesn’t get in the way.
  • The underlying value is a fraction. If you see something like 0.65763 instead of a clock time, that means the cell isn’t formatted as time. Format, Number, Time will fix the display.
  • Semicolon key on non-US layouts. On some keyboards the ; sits in a different spot or needs Shift on its own. If the combo fires nothing, check where your ; actually lives.
  • Pair it with insert date. Insert the date, then the time in the same cell, and you get a full timestamp.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: