The Sisyphus Comments

Deleting Rows or Columns in Excel

By now you probably know that I am big on keyboard shortcuts. Here are some ways to delete rows and columns in Excel without having to use the menus. This works for Excel 97 and later.

To select a row or column, click on the grey box at the far left of the row (containing the row number) or the grey box at the top of the column (containing the column letter). Once you have highlighted the row or column, you can just click the Del key (to clear the cells) or Ctrl-C (to start a cut-and-paste operation).

You can also select a row or column from the keyboard. Simply move to a cell in the row or column you want to select and press Shift + Spacebar (to select the row) or Ctrl + Spacebar (to select the column). If you want to extend the selection of rows or columns, release the Ctrl key, then press and hold the Shift key and use the arrow keys (up arrow, right arrow, etc.) to select adjacent rows or columns.

Once you have selected the row(s) or column(s) you want to delete, press Ctrl + – (Ctrl key plus the minus key). The minus key can be the one on the numeric keypad or on the top row of keys (just above the letters and below the function keys) on standard keyboards. This will bring up the Delete pop-up window, at which point you can

In fact, you don’t have to select the entire row or column prior to deleting it — you can also move to a cell in the row or column you want to delete, press Ctrl + – and select “Entire row” or “Entire column” from the Delete pop-up window.

These keyboard shortcuts help keep your hands on the keyboard and limit the number of times you have to reach for your mouse. Once you get used to them, they save you lots of time. You an save your up and down arm movements for after 1700 hours at your local pub.