Removing All Formatting

If you want to remove all the formatting from a cell, there are any number of techniques you can use. One way is to use the Format Painter. If there is an "unformatted" cell close to the one from which you want the formatting removed, just select the unformatted cell and click on the Format Painter tool. Then click on the cell you want to be unformatted, and that should do the trick.

Another method is, if you are using Excel 2007, to select the cell or cells, display the Home tab of the ribbon, click Clear in the Editing group. In older versions of Excel you select the cell or cells and select Clear from the Edit menu. Regardless of your version you'll see a submenu from which you can select Formats.

You can also remove formatting by using the built-in styles in Excel. In Excel 2007 select the cells and display the Home tab of the ribbon. In the Styles group click Normal. In earlier versions of Excel select the cells then press Alt+' (the apostrophe) to display the Style dialog box. In the Style Name drop-down list, select Normal, then click on OK. The formatting of the cell is returned to whatever is defined as "normal" for your worksheet.

If you prefer to use a single tool to remove formatting, you can customize Excel by adding a special tool to the Quick Access toolbar. Follow these steps if you are using Excel 2007:

1. Click the Office button and then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.
2. At the left side of the dialog box click Customize. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. Use the Choose Commands From drop-down list to choose All Commands.
4. In the list of commands, choose Clear Formats.
5. Click the Add button. The command is copied to the right side of the screen.
6. Click OK.

If you are using an older version of Excel you can add the equivalent tool to the toolbar by following these steps:

1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. This displays the Customize dialog box.
2. Make sure the Toolbars tab is selected.
3. In the list of toolbars, make sure the toolbars you want to edit are selected.
4. Click on the Commands tab. (Click here to see a related figure.)
5. In the list of Categories, select Edit.
6. In the list of Commands, select Clear Formatting.
7. Use the mouse to drag the command from the Commands list to its new location on the toolbar. When you release the mouse button, the Clear Formatting icon appears.
8. Click on Close to dismiss the Customize dialog box.

With the new tool in place, you can remove formatting by selecting the cells you want to affect and then clicking the tool.