Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Hiding and Unhiding Columns.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 2, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Excel allows you to easily hide columns in your worksheet. Once a column is hidden, it will not be shown on the display or printed when you print the worksheet. The column is not deleted; its width is simply reduced to 0. To hide a column, follow these steps:
You can also hide columns by selecting those you want to hide, right-clicking on the selected columns, and choosing Hide from the resulting Context menu.
The columns disappear from the display. Notice, however, that the other columns do not change; they still retain the same column labels. Excel does, however, leave a thick bar in the column header area to indicate where the hidden columns would normally appear.
To later unhide the columns, follow these steps:
You can also unhide columns by selecting the columns on both sides of those you want to unhide, right-clicking on the selected columns, and choosing Unhide from the resulting Context menu.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6864) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Hiding and Unhiding Columns.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
If you were trying to format a worksheet and nothing you did could make the first two columns appear, would you be ...
Discover MoreIf you have a bunch of hidden columns in your worksheet, you might want to unhide only a portion of those columns. This ...
Discover MoreUsing AutoFit can help you maximize your use of screen space. In certain situations, though, it can make your data harder ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-07-02 08:39:30
I thinknit would be a worthwhile note in the discussion about hiding columns ti mention how gro I ping works and can e used to hide/unhide c I mns.
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
Comments