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: Hiding and Unhiding Rows.

Hiding and Unhiding Rows

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 9, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Excel allows you to easily hide a row, meaning it will not be shown on the display or printed when you print the worksheet. The row is not deleted; its height is simply reduced to 0. To hide a row, follow these steps:

  1. Select any cell in the row (or rows) you want to hide.
  2. Choose the Row option from the Format menu. This displays a submenu.
  3. Choose the Hide option from the submenu. The rows disappear from the display.

When you hide rows in a worksheet, you will notice that the other rows are not renumbered. Instead, a thick bar appears in the row header area (at the left side of the screen) to indicate that there are hidden rows at that point. You can unhide previously hidden rows by following these steps:

  1. Select the rows on both sides of those that are hidden. For instance, if rows 7 through 11 are hidden, select rows 6 and 12.
  2. Choose the Row option from the Format menu. Excel displays a submenu.
  3. Choose the Unhide option from the submenu. The previously hidden rows reappear on the display.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2122) 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: Hiding and Unhiding Rows.

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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