Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Deleting Everything Except Formulas.

Deleting Everything Except Formulas

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated June 20, 2018)

Let's face it—when it comes to developing worksheets, we spend most of our time creating formulas. It seems, then, a waste to throw out perfectly good formulas and recreate a worksheet from scratch just because you need to get rid of a bunch of values in the worksheet. There may be an easier way—just get rid of everything except the formulas. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the worksheet you want to edit.
  2. Press F5 to display the Go To dialog box.
  3. Click Special. Excel displays the Go To Special dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Go To Special dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Constants option button is selected. The check boxes below Formulas should then become accessible.
  5. Using the four checkboxes under Formulas, specify what type of constants you want to select.
  6. Click OK. Excel selects all the cells that meet your criteria.
  7. Press Delete. The contents of the selected cells are deleted.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3053) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Deleting Everything Except Formulas.

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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