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: Unhiding a Single Column.

Unhiding a Single Column

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 17, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


I regularly hide and unhide columns in my worksheets. If I have an entire range of columns hidden, I find it a bother to unhide a single column out of all those hidden. For instance, I may hide columns C:M and want to later unhide column F. There are a number of ways this can be done:

  • Unhide the entire range and then rehide C:E and G:M.
  • Enter cell F1 into the Name box and then use the controls available through the Format tool on the Home tab of the ribbon to unhide the column.
  • Enter cell F1 into the Name box and then press Ctrl+Shift+0 to unhide the column.

There are a few other ways to unhide the column, as well, but (as I said) I find such approaches a bother. Unhiding either a single column or a range of columns is very easy to do through a spiffy little macro. Consider the following:

Sub UnhideSingleColumn()
    Dim Col As String
    Dim rng As Range

StartHere:
    Col = InputBox("Enter column to unhide.", "Unhide Column")
    If Col = "" Then Exit Sub
    On Error Resume Next
    ' if not a valid range, an error occurs
    Set rng = ActiveSheet.Columns(Col)
    If Err.Number <> 0 Then
        On Error GoTo 0
        Err.Clear
        MsgBox "Invalid input! Please input a valid column."
        GoTo StartHere
    End If

    rng.EntireColumn.Hidden = False

    MsgBox "Column " & UCase(Col) & " is now visible.", _
      vbOKOnly, "Unhide Specified Column"
    Set rng = Nothing
    On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

The macro prompts the user for which column should be made visible, and then tries to select that column. If the column cannot be selected, then an error is generated and the user is again asked for input. If the column can be selected, then its .Hidden property is turned off, thereby making the column visible.

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 (11471) 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: Unhiding a Single Column.

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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