Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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 Unwanted Styles.
When you work with other people who use Excel, it is not unusual to copy worksheets from their workbooks into your own workbook. When you do so, the worksheet isn't the only thing that is copied—Excel also copies their formatting styles to your workbook. Manually deleting the unwanted styles can be a hassle, depending on the number of styles. Removing user-defined styles is very easy, though, if you use a macro. The following macro will quickly delete the unwanted styles:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: 
Sub StyleKill()
Dim styT As Style
Dim intRet As Integer
For Each styT In ActiveWorkbook.Styles
If Not styT.BuiltIn Then
intRet = MsgBox("Delete style '" & styT.Name & "'?", vbYesNo)
If intRet = vbYes Then styT.Delete
End If
Next styT
End Sub
The macro needs just a little user input. Whenever the macro detects a user-defined style, you are asked if you want to delete it. Clicking on the Yes button causes the style to be removed from the workbook.
You should be aware of the limitations of a macro approach such as this. The biggest limitation is that if your workbook is corrupted in any way (and, yes, it is very possible to have corruption in the styles in a workbook), this macro won't fix that corruption. Instead, you may want to look at a handy third-party solution (XLStylesTool) that can work wonders if you need to clean up your styles in a more comprehensive manner. You can find more information about XLStylesTool here:
https://sergeig888.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/net4-0-version-of-the-xlstylestool-is-now-available/
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12259) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Deleting Unwanted Styles.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Have you ever entered information in a cell only for it to appear as hash marks? This tip explains why this happens, how ...
Discover MoreWhen you save a workbook, you expect Excel to remember the formatting you applied in the worksheets in that workbook. If ...
Discover MoreExcel is continually trying to figure out what type of data is being stored in a cell. If it can interpret a value as a ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2018-06-05 08:10:16
gerdami
Unprotect sheets before running this code otherwise styles won't be deleted.
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 © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments