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’.
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.
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.
Press Ctrl/Cmd + 0 to hide the selected 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’.
The selected rows are now hidden.
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.
That’s it. The selected rows are hidden.
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READ MOREKeyboard 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.
Press Ctrl/Cmd + 9 to hide the selected rows.
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’
Choose ‘Visible cells only’ and click ‘OK’.
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 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.
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’.
Any hidden columns are visible now.
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.
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READ MOREResize 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.
Let’s adjust the column width first. As soon as you let go, all columns will be 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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: