
If you only have a few hidden rows and columns, it’s possible to unhide these manually and then delete it.īut if this is something you need to do quite often, or if you have a large data set with a large number of rows/columns that are hidden, it’s best to use VBA macro codes to automate this process. In that case, you can use the VBA method covered next. This is a great method if you want to delete all the hidden columns and rows for the entire workbook.īut in case you only want to delete it in a specific sheet or in a specific range, then you cannot use this option. So make sure you have a backup copy of the original data (in case if you may need it in the future) Note: You cannot undo the changes made by the Document Inspector. In case there are no hidden rows and columns, you would see a green tick before the Hidden and Rows and Columns option (in the Document Inspector dialog box).Īpart from hidden rows and columns, the Document Inspector dialog box also gives you a lot of other useful information – such as the number of comments, or hidden worksheets, or embedded documents, etc.
Also, it will show you a warning prompt asking to save the file once, as the data changed by these steps can not be recovered. In case the workbook is not saved already, Excel would first force you to save it.
Note that you need to save this workbook before running the Document Inspector option. The above steps would delete all the hidden rows and columns in the workbook. You will see that it shows the total number of hidden rows and columns that it has found in the workbook.
Scroll down to the ‘Hidden Rows and Columns’ option. This will inspect the entire workbook and give you the information about the workbook In the ‘Document Inspector’ dialog box, click on the ‘Inspect’ button. This will open the Document Inspector dialog box Click on the ‘Inspect Document’ option. In the options on the left, click on ‘Info’. Remember that it is going to remove these hidden rows and columns from the entire workbook and not from the active sheet only.īelow are the steps to delete all the hidden rows and columns from the workbook in Excel: If you want to delete all the hidden rows and columns in an entire workbook in Excel, you can use the method shown here. Delete Hidden Rows and Columns using VBAĭelete All Hidden Rows and Columns in Excel. Delete All Hidden Rows and Columns in Excel. Then choose an appropriate option in the Delete dialog box that appears.Īs always when deleting rows or columns, be careful not to delete other data that may exist elsewhere in the worksheet. This method will completely remove all data and formatting, and it can be a good way to quickly tidy up a worksheet.įinally, you can right-click and choose Delete from the context menu. Just select the columns or rows that contain the data you'd like to remove, and delete, using one of the methods covered in an earlier lesson. If you also want to remove the formatting, use "Clear all" in the Clear menu on the home ribbon.Īnother easy way to remove data in a worksheet is to delete entire columns or rows. Notice that deleting cells this way removes the data but not the formatting. Just select the cells you'd like to delete, then press the delete key. Choose "Clear Contents" to clear just the contents.Ĭhoose "Clear All" to clear both the contents and the formatting.Ī faster way to clear content is to use the delete key. One way to remove data in Excel is to use the Clear button on the home ribbon. However, you can also remove data by deleting columns, rows, or cells.
The most common way to remove data is to use the delete key, or, to use the Clear button on the ribbon. In this lesson, we'll look at several ways to delete data in a worksheet.