Excel - Delete Cells

Whenever we download a lengthy file from the web, many anomalies occur, like duplicate values, null values, incorrect values, etc. To remove those anomalies, you can get the undue advantage of the Delete feature to delete the cell value in Microsoft Excel. The simplest way to delete data in a specific cell is to click on the active cell and hit the Delete button. However, the formatting cannot be deleted using the delete button.

How to Delete Cells in Microsoft Excel?

There are various ways to delete cells from the worksheet −

• Delete − Select the Delete option to delete the entire row or column. You may right-click on the row number or column header and choose this option to delete the targeted row/column.
• Delete Button − To delete irrelevant data, select the specific range of cells and press the delete button from the keyboard.
• Shift Cells Left − Moves the selected cells to the left and delete a cell from the active cell.
• Shift Cells UP − Moves the selected cells upwards and deletes a selected cell.
• Entire Row − You may delete an entire row by clicking on this option to delete all the data from that row.
• Entire Column − This option deletes all the data in the selected column.

The keyboard shortcut "ctrl+-" opens the Delete dialog box, where you can select options like Shift cells left, Shift cells up, Entire Row, and Entire Column.

Shift Cells Left

This enables users to delete a cell value and shift that cell to the left side of the cell. Use the "ctrl+-" keyword shortcut to open the Delete dialog box. Select the "Shift cells left" and hit the OK button.

Shift Cells UP

Users can delete cell values and shift the row below upwards. Press the "ctrl+-" keyword shortcut to open the Delete dialog box. Choose "Shift cells up" and hit the OK button.

For example −

Select the range B5:C6 and use the keyword shortcut "ctrl+-" to open the Delete dialog box.

After that, you can select the "Shift cells up" option and hit the OK button. The selected range of cells has been deleted, and the cell range B6:C6 has been shifted upward.

Entire Row

Select the range B8:C8 and then use the shortcut key "ctrl+-" to open the Delete dialog box and select the "Entire row" option inclusive in the Delete dialog box. Select the OK button.

Therefore, all data in the selected range will be deleted.

Entire Column

The "Entire Column" option in the Delete dialog box can be used to delete the selected column. For example, select the C3 cell and use the keyword shortcut "ctrl+-" to open the Delete dialog box. Select the "Entire Column" from the drop-down list and click OK.

Therefore, the data of the entire C column will be deleted.