Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Quickly Deleting Rows and Columns.

Quickly Deleting Rows and Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 29, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You probably already know how to completely delete rows or columns by using Excel's menu commands or the tools on the ribbon. Excel provides an even quicker way to delete rows or columns, however. All you need to do is select the row or column that you want to delete, and then press Ctrl+- (that's Ctrl and the minus sign at the same time). Excel removes the row or column from your worksheet, as directed.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2107) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Quickly Deleting Rows and Columns.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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