Do you ever feel like your Excel spreadsheets are taking over your life? Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m sure we’ve all been there at some point. You’ve got a worksheet with a million columns and no idea how to make sense of it all. Well, fear not. Deleting columns in Excel is a breeze and I’m going to show you how.
The first step in deleting a column in Excel is to select the column you’d like to get rid of. To do this, just click on the letter of the column you’d like to delete. The column should now be highlighted in a different color.
Once you’ve selected the column you’d like to get rid of, right click on the highlighted area and select “delete” from the drop-down menu. A dialog box will appear asking if you’d like to shift the cells left or right. If you’d like the information in the adjacent columns to move over to fill the gap, select “shift cells left”. If you’d like the information in the column you’re deleting to be deleted permanently, select “delete entire column”.
After you’ve selected your preferred option in the “delete” dialog box, click “ok” to delete the column. A second dialog box will appear asking you to confirm that you’d like to delete the column. This is your last chance to change your mind, so make sure you’re certain before clicking “ok”.
That’s it! You’ve successfully deleted a column in Excel. Admire your work for a moment and revel in the newfound sense of control you have over your spreadsheets. Sure, deleting a column might not seem like a big deal, but it’s the little victories that add up in the end.
Okay, so maybe deleting a column in Excel isn’t exactly rocket science. But did you know that there are other ways to delete columns that might better suit your needs? Let’s take a look at a few other methods you might want to consider.
Instead of right-clicking on a column and selecting “delete”, you can also drag and drop the column you’d like to delete. To do this, simply click and hold the letter of the column you’d like to delete and drag it to the trash can icon located on the right-hand side of the screen. Just like with the right-click method, a dialog box will appear asking if you’d like to shift the cells left or right or delete the entire column.
If you don’t want to permanently delete a column but just want to hide it from view, you can do that too. To do this, right-click on the column you’d like to hide and select “hide”. The column will disappear from view, but all of the data in it will still be there. To unhide the column, select the columns to the left and right of the hidden column, right-click, and select “unhide”.
If you’re an Excel power user and like to save time whenever possible, keyboard shortcuts might be the way to go. To delete a column using a keyboard shortcut, simply select the column you’d like to delete and press “ctrl” and “-” at the same time. A dialog box will appear asking if you’d like to shift the cells left or right or delete the entire column, just like with the other methods.
So there you have it, folks. Multiple ways to delete columns in Excel and take control of your spreadsheets. Whether you prefer the right-click method, drag and drop, or keyboard shortcuts, there’s always a way to get the job done. Now, go forth and make those spreadsheets your b*tch!
