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Unhiding a Single Column

Summary: In a worksheet with lots of hidden columns it is a real pain to try to unhide just one or two columns. The best solution is to use a macro to do the unhiding, as described in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

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, if I hide columns C:M, and I want to unhide column F, then I need to unhide the entire range and then rehide C:E and G:M. (There are other ways I could accomplish the same task, but none of them are particularly endearing.)

However, I find that a single column can be unhidden very easily using a 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.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2405) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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