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: Undoing an Edit.
It happens to the best of us. You may delete the wrong value, replace the wrong formula, or enter something incorrectly. In short, you make a mistake. Excel allows you to undo almost any of your editing actions. The easiest way to undo an edit or formatting change is to press Ctrl+Z. Excel very helpfully undoes whatever it was you just did.
Excel also provides an Undo tool at the upper-left of the Excel program window, just above the leftmost tabs of the ribbon. This tool looks like a curved arrow pointing backward—to the left. If you click on the tool, it is the same as pressing Ctrl+Z. If you click on the tool and you hear a "ding," it means there are no actions to undo. If there are more than one actions that can be undone, click on the down-arrow to the right of the Undo tool and you can see the various actions that you can undo.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12361) 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: Undoing an Edit.
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!
Sometimes getting the right thing to show up in a cell can be a bit tricky when working with dates. If you enter a year ...
Discover MoreThe Clipboard is essential to move or copy information from one place in Excel to another. If you get an error when you ...
Discover MoreWant a quick way to tell how may rows and columns you've selected? Here's what I do when I need to know that information.
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-12-24 07:43:40
Petros
Undo provides a history of up-to 100 levels for a lot (but not all) of actions users perform in Excel. For example, running a macro or deleting a sheet resets the undo stack.
Undo steps must be executed in the reverse order they were first done. You can't, for example, jump through the list picking which steps you would like to undo and leave the rest. All the work between the last step and the step you want to undo, gets undone as well.
Here is how to modify Undo levels or disable Excel's Undo history. If the Undo history is disabled, no memory will be allocated for it. Excel can use the maximum memory available in your computer, when Undo levels are set to zero.
http://www.spreadsheet1.com/excel-options-addin.html
2016-12-24 06:05:19
Willy Vanhaelen
The use of Ctrl+Y (redo) is also interesting.
It cancels the effect of the Ctrl+Z you just pressed.
So, if you make a change to a worksheet and you want to compare the result before the change and after you can press Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y alternatively and keep the one you like.
2016-12-24 05:50:20
there is also a short key which is Ctrl+Y. that is used to undo the undo.
Please also mention this in your article.
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 © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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: 
Comments