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The ability to hide columns or rows in your spreadsheet can be very useful in some situations. You can keep certain fields or records hidden out of sight, but still in your tables or formulas. However, when you’re collaborating with others, hidden rows and columns can be an unwelcome surprise. Fortunately, there are also multiple ways to find and unhide hidden columns and rows in Microsoft Excel.

In this guide, you will learn three different ways to hide columns or rows in Microsoft Excel: using the right-click or context menu, using the ‘Format’ menu, and using a keyboard shortcut. You will also learn how to use ‘Go to Special’ to find hidden columns or rows. Additionally, you will learn four different ways of unhiding all columns and rows at once. Finally, you will learn three different ways of unhiding the first column or row, as well as any other individual columns and rows.

How to Hide Columns in Excel?

Below, you have step-by-step instructions on three different methods of hiding columns in Excel.

Right-click Menu

Select the column or columns you want to hide. If you want to hide multiple columns, select the first and then hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key while selecting the rest. Right-click on your selection to get the context menu and choose ‘Hide’.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hide Columns via Right click Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hide Columns via Right-click Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Columns Hidden
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Columns Hidden

Format Menu

Select the column you want to hide. If you want to hide multiple columns, hold down Ctrl or Cmd after the first, then select the others. Go to Format > Column > Hide.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hide Columns via Format Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hide Columns via Format Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Columns Hidden 2
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Columns Hidden

Keyboard Shortcut

You can also use a keyboard shortcut to hide columns. Select the column or columns you want to hide, holding down Ctrl or Cmd if you want to select multiple non-adjacent columns.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hide Columns via Keyboard Shortcut
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hide Columns via Keyboard Shortcut

Press Ctrl/Cmd + 0 to hide the selected columns.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hidden Columns
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hidden Columns

How to Hide Rows in Excel?

Follow the steps below to hide rows in Microsoft Excel.

Right-click Menu

Select the row or rows you want to hide. If you want to hide multiple rows, select the first and then hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key while selecting the rest. Right-click on your selection to get the context menu and choose ‘Hide’.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hide Rows via Right click Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hide Rows via Right-click Menu

The selected rows are now hidden.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hidden Columns 2
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hidden Columns

Format Menu

Select the Row you want to hide. If you want to hide multiple rows, hold down Ctrl or Cmd after the first, then select the others. Go to Format > Row > Hide.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hide Rows via Format Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hide Rows via Format Menu

That’s it. The selected rows are hidden.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hidden Columns 3
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hidden Columns
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Keyboard Shortcut

You can also use a keyboard shortcut to hide rows. Select the row or rows you want to hide, holding down Ctrl or Cmd if you want to select multiple non-adjacent rows.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hide Rows via Keyboard Shortcut
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hide Rows via Keyboard Shortcut

Press Ctrl/Cmd + 9 to hide the selected rows.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Hidden Columns 4
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Hidden Columns

Use Go To Special to Find Hidden Columns or Rows

You can also use the ‘Go to Special’ tool to find hidden columns and rows.

Go to the ‘Editing’ area on the ‘Home’ tab and select ‘Go to Special’

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Go to Special
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Go to Special

Choose ‘Visible cells only’ and click ‘OK’.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Visible Cells Only
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Visible Cells Only

As you can see below, white lines indicate the hidden columns and rows. In the next section, you have instructions on several methods you can use to unhide these columns and rows.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel White Lines Indicate Hidden Column or Row
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - White Lines Indicate Hidden Column or Row

How to Unhide or Show Hidden Columns and Rows in Excel?

Below, you have instructions on four different methods you can use to unhide all columns and rows in your sheet. After that, you have instructions on three different ways of unhiding the first column or row, as well as any other columns and rows.

Unhide All Rows & Columns

The first step is the same for all four methods: select the entire sheet by clicking on the intersection between the row numbers and the column letters.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Select Entire Sheet
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Select Entire Sheet

After selecting the sheet, you can use any of the four methods below to unhide all columns and rows in your sheet.

Right-click Menu

After selecting the sheet, right-click to see the context menu. Right-click on the column letters to unhide columns, or right-click on the row numbers to unhide rows. Select ‘Unhide’.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Unhide with Context Menu
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Unhide with Context Menu

Any hidden columns are visible now.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel All Columns Visible
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - All Columns Visible

Format Menu

After selecting the sheet, go to the ‘Format’ menu. You can choose Column > Unhide and then Row > Unhide to make all rows and columns visible.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Format Unhide
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Format > Unhide
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Resize All Columns or Rows

Finally, you can unhide all columns and rows by resizing them. Select the entire sheet as shown in the beginning of this section.

Grab one of the lines dividing the column letters and adjust it to resize the column slightly.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Resize Columns
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Resize Columns

Let’s adjust the column width first. As soon as you let go, all columns will be visible.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel All Columns Visible 2
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - All Columns Visible

To unhide rows, grab one of the lines dividing the row numbers and resize the row by dragging it down. All rows are now visible, too.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Resize Rows to Show All
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Resize Rows to Show All

Keyboard Shortcuts

As promised, there are two keyboard shortcuts you can use to unhide columns or rows.

Unhide Rows Only

After selecting the sheet, use the following shortcut to unhide all rows.

  • Windows: Ctrl + Shift + 9
  • Mac: Cmd + Shift + 9

Unhide Columns Only

With the whole sheet selected, use the shortcut below to unhide all columns.

  • Windows: Ctrl + Shift + 0
  • Mac: Cmd + Shift + 0

Unhide Individual Columns or Rows

The first column or row can seem trickier to unhide, but it’s actually very easy to do. Below, you have step-by-step instructions on three quick methods for unhiding individual columns or rows.

Click & Drag

Hover over the left side of the first visible column to see the icon with the double line with arrows. Click and drag it right to show the first column.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Click Drag
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Click & Drag

To show the first row, hover over the top line of the first visible cell to see the icon with the double line and arrows. Click and drag down to show the first row.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Unhide First Row
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Unhide First Row

Right-click Menu

Select the columns on either side of the hidden one and right-click. Choose ‘Unhide’. To show a row, select the rows above and below the one you want to unhide.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Unhide Column or Row
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Unhide Column or Row
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Unhide Column or Row 2
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Unhide Column or Row

Format Menu

Select the columns on either side of the hidden one and go to Format > Column > Unhide. To unhide a row, select the rows above and below it and go to Format > Row > Unhide.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Format Unhide 2
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Format > Unhide
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel Column Visible
How to Hide and Unhide Columns and Rows in Excel - Column Visible

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Conclusion

As you have seen, there are a lot of different ways to hide and unhide columns and rows in Microsoft Excel. You now know three different ways to hide columns or rows in Excel: the right-click or context menu, the ‘Format’ menu, and a keyboard shortcut. You also know how to use ‘Go to Special’ to find hidden columns and rows. Additionally, you know four ways to unhide all columns and rows at once, without having to worry about finding them. Finally, you know three ways to unhide individual columns and rows, including the first column and top row.

To learn more about Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, check out our guides on:

Maria Del Olmo
Originally published Mar 31 2023, Updated Mar 25 2023