Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Deleting a Chart.

Deleting a Chart

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 14, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Excel allows you to create all sorts of charts based on the data in a worksheet table. These charts can either be on their own sheets or they can be embedded within a regular worksheet. At some point you may have a need to delete a chart.

To delete an embedded chart, all you need to do is select it (so that handles appear around the perimeter of the chart object) and then press the Delete key.

If you need to delete a chart sheet, you do so in the same manner as when you delete a regular worksheet:

  1. Display the chart sheet.
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the Delete down-arrow (in the Cells group) and then click Delete Sheet. Excel asks if you are sure you want to delete the sheet.
  4. Click on OK. The chart sheet is deleted.

An alternative way to delete a chart sheet is to right-click on the tab for the sheet (this displays a Context menu) and then choose Delete.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9204) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Deleting a Chart.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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