Hiding Objects

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 4, 2016)

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. ...

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