Some spreadsheets that you work with in Microsoft Excel 2013 will contain an extraordinary amount of columns. For example, many of the spreadsheets that I work with in my day job come from online product databases, and it is not uncommon for these sheets to have dozens or hundreds of columns.
But your current needs may not require all of that data, and you need to remove some of it in order to show the data that is currently the most relevant. You may not want to delete that data, though, especially if it is part of a formula, or might be important later. One way to get your desired results is by hiding rows or columns that you don’t currently need. There are two different ways to hide rows or columns in Excel 2013, and we will show you both of those methods below.
How to Hide a Row or a Column in Excel 2013
The steps below are going to remove a row or column from view in your spreadsheet. This data is still actually there, so if you have a formula that is referencing a cell in one of the hidden rows or columns, that formula will not be affected.
Additionally, if you copy a group of rows or columns and paste them into a new worksheet or a new workbook, those rows or columns will be copied as well, and will be visible when you paste them.
Step 1: Open the spreadsheet containing the row or column that you wish to hide.
Step 2: Click the row number or the column letter of the row or column that you wish to hide. If you don’t see row numbers or column letters, then read this article to see how you can unhide them.
Step 3: Right-click the selected row number or column letter, then click the Hide option.
Note that you can use this same method if you need to hide multiple rows or columns. Simply click and hold on the first row number or column letter that you want to hide, then drag your mouse to select the rest of the rows or columns ti hide. You can then right-click one of the selected rows or columns and choose the Hide option to hide all of them.
Rows or columns can be hidden in a different manner as well.
Alternate Method to Hide Rows or Columns in Excel 2013
Step 1: Select the row or column to hide.
Step 2: Click the Home tab at the top of the window.
Step 3: Click the Format button in the Cells section of the ribbon, click Hide & Unhide, then click Hide Rows or Hide Columns, based on what is currently selected.
Is there an entire worksheet, or worksheet tab, that you would like to hide from view in your Excel file? Read this article on hiding Excel worksheets so that you can remove an entire spreadsheet from view in your workbook.