Quickly Deleting Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Everyone knows that you can delete cells in an Excel spreadsheet by choosing Delete from the Edit menu. If you are typing away, however, it can be a pain to access the Delete dialog box in this manner. A quick way to accomplish the same task is to simply press Ctrl+- (the minus key, either on the regular keyboard or the numeric keypad). This pops up the Delete dialog box right away, allowing you to save a couple of mouse clicks. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Delete dialog box

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2649) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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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