Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Spreading Out a Table.

Spreading Out Worksheet Rows

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 22, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


2

Sometimes you may get a worksheet from someone else, and you need some room to work on the information provided. For instance, you may find it helpful to add some blank rows between each of the original rows in the original data. While this can be done rather easily using the Insert menu, it can quickly become tedious—particularly if you have a large number of rows that you want to spread out.

The following macro will help you tremendously in this situation. All you need to do is select the first row in the data. When you run the macro, it asks you how many blank rows you want to insert between the original rows. When you provide a number, the macro steps through the data and starts inserting blank rows. The macro stops when the first blank cell after the original data is detected.

Sub SpreadOut()
    Dim iBlanks As Integer
    Dim J As Integer

    iBlanks = InputBox("How many blank rows?", "Insert Rows")
    ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
    While ActiveCell.Value > "" And iBlanks > 0
        For J = 1 To iBlanks
            Selection.EntireRow.Insert
        Next J
        ActiveCell.Offset(iBlanks + 1, 0).Select
    Wend
End Sub

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10005) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Spreading Out a Table.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Automatic AutoCorrect Exceptions for Beginning Sentences

When automatically capitalizing the beginning of sentences, Word relies on how you historically have done your typing. ...

Discover More

Jumping to a Footnote

Jumping to a specific footnote can be very handy if your document has a lot of footnotes in it. Word provides the ...

Discover More

Printing Only Selected Rows from a Table

Tables are a great way to organize the information in a document. If your table gets quite long, you may not want to ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Deleting Blank Columns

Import data from another program, and you could end up with a lot of blank columns in your data. Here's the quickest way ...

Discover More

Inserting and Copying Rows

Want an easy way to insert a new row in a worksheet and copy everything from the row above? (You end up with two ...

Discover More

Floating Information in a Frozen Row

You can freeze information in rows or columns using one of the built-in features of Excel. As you move up or down in the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five minus 1?

2021-05-22 19:14:53

Ken Reed

How can this macro be expanded to format the row height to be different from the original row height in the worksheet?


2021-05-22 08:51:42

Alan Cannon

I prefer to increase the row height, which doesn't add rows to the worksheet but still spreads out the data. This way the data can still be sorted if needed.


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.