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: Using Strikethrough Formatting.

Using Strikethrough Formatting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 3, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365

One of the character formats you can use within Excel is referred to as strikethrough. This simply means that Excel shows a horizontal line through the middle of the character (or characters) to which the attribute has been applied. Strikethrough can be applied in this manner:

  1. Select the cell whose contents you want struck through, or select the characters within a cell, if you don't want them all struck through.
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F to display the Format Cells dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Font tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

  4. Select the Strikethrough check box.
  5. Click OK.

If you prefer to use keyboard shortcuts, then applying strikethrough is even easier—all you need to do is select the cells you want to affect (or the characters within a cell) and then press Ctrl+5.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10633) 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: Using Strikethrough Formatting.

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

Filtering for Comments

Excel makes it easy to filter a data table based on various values in that table. It isn't so easy to filter according to ...

Discover More

Prohibiting Single-Digit Entries in a Cell

The Data Validation capabilities of Excel can be very helpful when you are trying to control what people can enter into a ...

Discover More

Swapping Two Strings

Part of developing macros is learning how to use and manipulate variables. This tip examines a technique you can use to ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Highlighting Values in a Cell

There are many ways that Excel allows you to highlight information in a cell. This tip examines a way to highlight values ...

Discover More

Changing the Default Vertical Alignment

By default, Excel vertically aligns cell contents to the bottom of cells. If you prefer a different default alignment, ...

Discover More

Locking the Background Color

You can spend a lot of time getting the formatting in your worksheets just right. If you want to protect an element of ...

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.

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

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 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2023 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.