If you need to select the whole data region (it might included some empty cells) in Excel without selecting all cells (<CTRL>+<A>), click on any cell inside that group and then type: <CTRL>+<SHIFT>+<8>. It is very useful for large data sets.
You should then get something like this:
Try http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_rnib003503.hcsp for more keyboard shortcuts.