How to Hide Cells in Excel: A Guide for Beginners

Are you looking to keep some information hidden in your Excel spreadsheets? Maybe you have confidential data that you don't want to share with everyone or you just want to tidy up your worksheet. Either way, hiding cells in Excel is a simple and useful feature that you should know how to use. In this guide, I'll show you how to hide cells in Excel step by step. Let's get started!

How to hide cells in Excel

The process of hiding cells in Excel is straightforward:

1. Select the cells or range of cells that you want to hide.
2. Right-click on the selected cells and choose "Format Cells" from the context menu.
3. In the "Format Cells" dialog box, go to the "Protection" tab.
4. Tick the "Hidden" checkbox and click "OK".
5. Now that you have marked the cells as hidden, you need to protect the sheet to make sure that no one accidentally or intentionally reveals the hidden cells.
6. Go to the "Review" tab on the Ribbon and click on "Protect Sheet".
7. In the "Protect Sheet" dialog box, choose the options that you want to allow users to do, such as selecting cells or making changes to cells.
8. Set a password if you want and click "OK".

There you have it! Your cells are hidden and secured. If you want to unhide them later, follow the next section.

How to unhide cells in Excel

If you want to make your hidden cells visible again, here's what you need to do:

1. Select the cells or range of cells adjacent to the hidden cells, where you want to show the hidden cells.
2. Right-click on the selected cells and choose "Format Cells" from the context menu.
3. In the "Format Cells" dialog box, go to the "Protection" tab.
4. Un-tick the "Hidden" checkbox and click "OK".
5. Now you can see the previously hidden cells.

Easy, right? If you forget your password, you may need to use some VBA code to unprotect your sheet. But that's a topic for another day.

Tips for using hidden cells in Excel

Now that you know how to hide and unhide cells in Excel, let me give you some tips on when and how to use hidden cells in your worksheets:

1. Use hidden cells to keep your sheet clean. If you have some data that you don't need to show most of the time, you can hide them to reduce clutter and make your sheet easier to read.
2. Use hidden cells to store formulas and intermediate results. If you have a long formula or a complex calculation that you don't want to show to others or distract yourself, you can put them in hidden cells and reference them in other cells. This way, you can streamline your calculation without sacrificing clarity.
3. Use hidden cells to protect sensitive data. If you have confidential information that you don't want to expose accidentally or intentionally, you can hide them and protect your sheet with a password. This way, only authorized users can access the information, and you can minimize the risk of data breaches.

Conclusion

Hiding cells in Excel is a useful skill that you should have in your arsenal. Whether you need to keep your sheet clean, simplify your calculation, or protect sensitive information, you can use hidden cells to your advantage. I hope this guide has helped you understand how to hide and unhide cells in Excel step by step and given you some tips on when and how to use hidden cells effectively. Happy hidding!