PDF download Download Article PDF download Download Article

Hiding rows and columns you don't need can make your Excel spreadsheet much easier to read, especially if it's large. Hidden rows don't clutter up your sheet, but still affect formulas. You can easily Hide and Unhide rows in any version of Excel by following this guide.

Quick Guide: Hiding Rows in Excel

To hide rows, use your mouse to select the rows you want to hide, right-click (or control-click) the selection, and click "Hide". To unhide the rows, highlight the rows above and below the hidden cells, right-click the selection, and click "Unhide".

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Hiding a Selection of Rows

PDF download Download Article
  1. You can hold the Ctrl key to select multiple rows.
  2. Select “Hide”. The rows will be hidden from the spreadsheet.
    Advertisement
  3. To unhide the rows, use the row selector to highlight the rows above and below the hidden rows. For example, select Row 4 and Row 8 if Rows 5-7 are hidden.
    • Right-click within the highlighted area.
    • Select “Unhide”.
  4. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Hiding Grouped Rows

PDF download Download Article
  1. With Excel 2013, you can group/ungroup rows so that you can easily hide and unhide them.
    • Highlight the rows you want to group together and click "Data" tab.
    • Click "Group" button in the "Outline" Group.
  2. A line and a box with a (-) minus sign appears next to those rows. Click the box to hide the "grouped" rows. Once the rows are hidden the small box will display a (+) plus sign.
  3. Click (+) box if you want to unhide the rows.
  4. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    What if the hidden rows were 123 in Excel?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Just select the cell or cells, then go to Home, and in Cells group, click Format. Then under Visibility, point to Hide\Unhide, and then click Hide Rows or Hide Columns. This will hide the Rows or Columns of the selected cell or cells.
  • Question
    How do I hide non-consecutive rows containing a specific word in a given column?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Highlight the entire spreadsheet. Go to Data then click on Filter. This will add a drop-down box in the header of each column. Click on the drop-down box in the column where the specified words you want to hide is located. De-select all of the items you wish to hide, and click OK.
  • Question
    What is the purpose of hiding rows?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Hiding rows you don’t need can make your Excel spreadsheet much easier to read, especially if it’s large. For example, if you want to input data that is used for multiple formulas, a hidden row will still contain that information but will not be shown.
See more answers
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

You Might Also Like

Use AutoFilter in MS ExcelEasy AutoFilter Basics for Beginners
Group and Outline Excel Data Group and Outline Excel Data: Easily Collapse Rows of Info
Merge Cells in Excel Merge Cells in Microsoft Excel: A Quick Guide
Unprotect an Excel SheetUnprotect an Excel Sheet
Unhide All Rows and Columns in Microsoft Excel
Use If‐Else in Excel Use If‐Else in Microsoft Excel: Step-by-Step Tutorial
Insert Pictures in Excel That Automatically Size to Fit Cells Insert Pictures in Excel That Automatically Size to Fit Cells
Create a Mortgage Calculator With Microsoft ExcelCreate a Mortgage Calculator With Microsoft Excel
Create a Graph in Excel Create a Graph in Excel
Unhide Columns in Excel Show Hidden Columns in Microsoft Excel & Unhide Column A
Ethernet Doesn't Have a Valid IP Configuration Fix Ethernet Doesn't Have a Valid IP Configuration on Windows
Freeze Cells in Excel3 Easy Ways to Freeze Panes to Lock Columns or Rows in Excel
Change from Lowercase to Uppercase in Excel Change from Lowercase to Uppercase in Microsoft Excel
Make a Spreadsheet in ExcelMake a Spreadsheet in Excel
Advertisement

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 273,339 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 11
Updated: May 15, 2024
Views: 273,339
Categories: Microsoft Excel
Article SummaryX

1. Select rows to hide.
2. Right-click the highlighted area.
3. Click Hide.

Did this summary help you?

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 273,339 times.

Is this article up to date?

Advertisement