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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Accessing Spelling and Grammar Options

You can change the way Word handles spelling and grammar checks through the menus. But there is a quicker way to access ...

Discover More

A Shortcut for Switching Focus

While not technically an Excel-only tip, the shortcuts described in this tip will help you switch focus from your ...

Discover More

Placeholders for Stamps

Got a reply envelope you want to create? Why not put a placeholder for the stamp on the envelope? It's easy to do if you ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

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 ...

Discover More

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, ...

Discover More

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 ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 0 + 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.