Hiding Objects

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 3, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Excel allows you to place quite a few different objects in your worksheets. For instance, you can place graphic objects, drawings, sound files, and the like in your workbook. Sometimes these can become distracting, however. A quick way to hide the non-Excel objects is to follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the View tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

  3. Make sure the Hide All check box is selected.
  4. Click on OK.

If you hide the graphic objects, not only are they no longer visible, but they also won't print. Don't worry; they haven't been deleted from your workbook. If you later want to see the objects again, simply follow the same procedure, selecting "Show All" instead of "Hide All" in step 3.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2936) 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

Adding Vertical Lines at the Sides of a Word

Vertical lines are even easier to add around a word than are horizontal lines. There are a variety of methods you can use ...

Discover More

Condensing Figure Caption References

Word can automatically add captions to your figures. You can then reference those captions from within your document. If ...

Discover More

Using Strikethrough Formatting

Need a line through the middle of your text? Use strikethrough formatting, which is easy to apply using the Format Cells ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Using the Camera in VBA

The camera tool allows you to capture dynamic "pictures" of portions of a worksheet. If you want to use the camera tool ...

Discover More

Understanding Fill Effects

Want to fill a drawing object with different types of effects? Excel provides several effects that can make your drawing ...

Discover More

Adding Text to an AutoShape

You can add text to all sorts of drawing shapes, not just text boxes. Here's how easy it is.

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.

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

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 five more than 5?

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.