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.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
You can delete cells from a worksheet, and Excel will move the remaining cells either to the left or upwards. Deletions, ...
Discover MoreDeleting rows or columns is easy when you use the shortcut described in this tip. Just select the rows or columns and ...
Discover MoreImport data from another program, and you could end up with a lot of blank columns in your data. Here's the quickest way ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-03-23 09:43:14
NW
Personally, I like to use alt-e-d (press them one at a time). That will bring up the same dialog box.
Then, of course, you can either arrow down/up to your selection (or press & hold the alt key and type the underlined letter corresponding to what action you want to take) all followed by [enter].
2015-03-21 18:12:17
Dave Onorato
Or the easy way? Copy a blank cell and paste it where you want the "deleted" pristine cell.
You can do this in a macro, too by invoking a copy/paste into whatever cell you are on. Just copy cell A65536 into the current cell.
And set that macro in personal with a keystroke.
2015-03-21 08:59:29
GaryC
How can you call this command out in VBA and then execute, so you can create a macro?
2015-03-21 08:57:30
GaryC
Never knew that, thank you that will be useful to remember.
2015-03-21 06:37:14
Marty
The shortcut for me was CTRL - It was confusing to me when you add the plus sign in between I thought I had to hold control then hit + and then minus
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments