How To Unhide Or Hide Columns & Rows In Excel

Fri Oct 8, 2021

Excel is regarded as a significant resource for portfolio managers, traders, accountants, and more. The word alone conjures up images of long worksheets, complex macros, and pivot tables or graphical representations.

When working with a lot of spreadsheets, it might be useful to hide or unhide rows and columns.

Why does it? The answer is so that you can easily view the information you have to analyze, instead of removing the row. Luckily, Microsoft Excel makes this simple.

Would you like to hide the rows and columns in a data-heavy Excel worksheet? This guide will help you learn to hide and unhide your data.

Table Of Contents:

  • How To Hide Columns In Excel?
  • How To Unhide Columns In Excel?
  • How To Hide Rows In Excel?
  • How To Unhide Rows In Excel?
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Conclusion

How To Hide Columns In Excel

In Excel, you may conceal and unhide columns in a variety of ways. Did you know that you may display and unhide many columns at the same time? That's correct, even if they're not contiguous.

Even better, if they are adjacent, you may utilize Excel's Grouping feature. So what's the path to getting to hiding Columns in Excel?

Begin by selecting the column(s) to be hidden. You may accomplish this in a variety of ways.

  • Click the first column, hold the Shift key, and then click the final column to select several consecutive columns.
  • Click the first column, hold the Control key (Command on Mac), then click the remaining columns. This is to select several non-adjacent columns.
  • Make use of the name box: In the name box to the left of the formula field, type a cell label. For example, if you wish to conceal the second column, you may do so.

After you've made your choice, use one of these two techniques to hide the columns

  • Hide the chosen column or row by right-clicking it and selecting Hide. If you entered the column identification, this technique will not work.
  • Click the Home tab, then in the Cells group.
  • Now select Format > Hide and Unhide and choose Hide Columns.

The Group Feature

The instructions below describe how to utilize the Group feature in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. Grouping only operates with adjacent columns.

  • Choose the number of consecutive columns you want to hide. During this process, you may not be able to utilize the Control key.
  • Choose by clicking the Group button on the Data tab or Outline group.
  • Your columns will no longer be visible.

Not only are your columns hidden, but Excel has also included show hide buttons to assist you to switch between views.

How To Unhide Columns In Excel

There are several methods for selecting and unhiding columns. Here is a method that is fast and efficient:

  • Unhide a hidden row or column by right-clicking the thin double line denoting it.
  • Choose the two adjacent columns or rows.
  • Click Format > Hide and Unhide in the Cells group on the Home tab.
  • Then select Unhide Rows or Unhide Columns.
  • Unhide all columns or rows in your spreadsheet by selecting all with the keyboard shortcut Control + A (Command + A on Mac), right-clicking, and selecting Unhide.

The Group Feature

To Disable the Group Feature here’s what you need to do:

  • Choose the range of Columns you want to Ungroup.
  • Click the Group button on the or Outline group, or data tab, then choose.
  • The Grouping function has been deactivated.

Keep in mind that while you can conceal or unhide many columns at once. However, you cannot conceal or unhide both columns and rows at the same time.

You may also like:

How To Hide Rows In Excel

In the same way that you can rapidly hide and unhide columns, you can also hide and expose hidden rows in your Excel spreadsheet.

While you freeze rows, you may find it useful to hide rows that you no longer need. You can do this without permanently removing the data from your spreadsheet.

You may subsequently expose the concealed cells by right-clicking and unhiding specific rows.

You may also go to the Format menu and unhide all concealed rows. This function is very useful if you've buried several rows in a huge spreadsheet.

Here's how to accomplish both:

Hiding Individual Rows

  • First, open the Excel document
  • Choose the row or rows you want to conceal.
  • Select a whole row by clicking on its number on the spreadsheet's left side.
  • Select several rows by clicking on a row number, holding down the "Shift" key on your Mac or PC keyboard. Then clicking on another.
  • Right-click anywhere in the selected row and select Delete.
  • Select Hide.

Hiding Several Rows

This is the sort of grouping you read about before that only works with neighboring rows.

  • Select the number of consecutive rows to conceal. During this process, you cannot utilize the Control key.
  • Select a group by selecting the Group button on the Data tab or the Outline group.
  • Your rows will now be hidden.

Excel has not only hidden your rows, but it has also included show hide buttons to help you switch between views.

How To Unhide Rows In Excel

You may wish to unhide information in certain cells or whole rows in an Excel spreadsheet at times.

Perhaps you have some more data in other cells that you would want to be displayed. So, how do you go about it?

Unhiding Individual Rows

Understand that you may hide and unhide objects other than columns and rows in Excel. Also, see how to freeze and lock data in Excel for other methods to deal with your data.

  • Highlight the row on each side of the row to be unhidden.
  • Right-click anywhere inside the rows you've chosen.
  • Select Unhide.

You may also manually extend a hidden row by clicking or dragging. A broader border line indicates hidden rows.

Move your mouse over this line until it becomes a double bar with arrows. Double-click to expose the hidden row or click and drag to manually extend the concealed row.

Unhiding Several Rows

  • Go to the Home tab in Spreadsheet to unhide all concealed rows.
  • Select Format, which is placed on the toolbar's right-hand side.
  • Scroll down to the Visibility area. These rows can now be concealed or unhidden.
  • Hover your mouse over hiding & Unhide.
  • Choose Unhide Rows from the drop-down menu.

This will show all concealed rows, which is very useful if you've hidden many rows throughout a big spreadsheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I unhide all columns in excel?

There are various ways to choose and unhide columns. Here's a quick and efficient method:

  • In the upper left corner of your spreadsheet, click on the little green triangle. The full spreadsheet will be selected as a result of this.
  • Now, right-click anywhere in the selection and pick Unhide from the menu.
  • All of your columns should now be visible.

2. What is the shortcut key to unhide columns in excel?

To unhide rows and columns, there are numerous specific keyboard shortcuts.

  • To Unhide Rows, use Ctrl+Shift+.
  • Unhide Columns (Ctrl+Shift+) If this doesn't work, try Alt, O, C, U.

Summing Up

Spreadsheets may rapidly become unmanageable. When you have many rows and columns, it can be difficult to do any job.

While searching is useful, it is occasionally beneficial to make the entire spreadsheet simpler to see. This is where hiding and unhiding items come into play. You may conceal and reveal the contents of a single cell, a row, or a column.

This guide was curated to exactly assist you in improving your practice and performance at work.

Did you find this article helpful or think we’ve missed something? Do let us know in the comments section below.


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