Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Deleting' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Checking for Duplicate Rows Based on a Range of Columns
When working with data in Excel, you might want to figure out which rows of data represent duplicates of other rows. If it takes analyzing the values in multiple columns to determine if rows are duplicates, the task can seem daunting. There are several ways you can approach the problem and find your duplicates.

   Clearing and Deleting Cells
When you want to remove information from a worksheet, you can either clear cells or delete cells. This tip examines the difference between the two, focusing on the different ways you can both delete and clear information.

   Conditionally Deleting Rows
Want to delete a bunch of rows in a worksheet based on the value in a certain cell of each row? There are a couple of ways you can approach the problem, as discussed in this tip.

   Deleting Blank Columns
Import data from another program, and you could end up with a lot of blank columns in your data. Here's the quickest way to get rid of these empty columns.

   Deleting Duplicate Columns
Got a worksheet in which there may be entire columns that are duplicates of each other? If you want to delete those duplicate columns you'll appreciate the ideas presented in this tip.

   Deleting Duplicate Text Values
Got a list of data from which you want to delete duplicates? There are a couple of techniques you can use to get rid of the unwanted data, as described in this tip.

   Deleting Every X Rows without a Macro
Grab some info from a source other than Excel, and you may find the need to delete a certain pattern of rows from a worksheet. While you can use a macro to get rid of the unwanted rows, there's an easy way that doesn't require VBA at all.

   Deleting Everything Except Formulas
Need to get rid of everything in a worksheet except the formulas? It's easier to make this huge change than you think it is.

   Inserting and Deleting Rows in a Protected Worksheet
You've protected and saved your worksheet with explicit instructions that you be allowed to insert and delete rows. But when you try it, you find that you can't get rid of rows you want to remove. This is due to the way that Excel interprets your protection instructions, as explained in this tip.

   Quickly Deleting Cells
If you need to delete a cell, the Delete key won't do it. (That only clears the contents of a cell; it doesn't delete the actual cell.) Here's a quick way you can make that unwanted cell entirely disappear.

   Quickly Deleting Rows and Columns
Deleting rows or columns is easy when you use the shortcut described in this tip. Just select the rows or columns and then use the keyboard to do your deleting.

   Removing Duplicate Cells
If you need to often delete duplicate items from a list, then you'll love the macro presented in this tip. It makes quick work out of removing all those duplicates.

   Removing Duplicate Rows
Too much data in your worksheet? Does too much of that data duplicate other data? Here's how to get rid of the duplicates so you are left with the unique information you need.

   Stopping the Deletion of Cells
You can delete cells from a worksheet, and Excel will move the remaining cells either to the left or upwards. Deletions, however, can mess up the design of a worksheet. If you want to stop people from deleting cells, you'll appreciate the overview in this tip.