Hiding irrelevant rows is an effective way to declutter Google Sheets and keep the focus on key data. For example, concealing raw records or older information streamlines what's visible. This comprehensive guide teaches quick keyboard shortcuts and right-click menus for hiding rows. You’ll also learn to unhide missing rows and protect hidden ones from prying eyes.
How to Hide and Unhide Cells in Google Sheets (In Easy Steps)
Hiding specific cells in Excel can be useful for many purposes, such as keeping sensitive data private or reducing clutter in large spreadsheets. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on hiding cells in Excel using the Format menu.
Step 1: Select the cell or range of cells you want to hide. Click and drag to make multiple selections. Cells can be hidden individually or in blocks across rows and columns.
Step 2: Navigate to Format > Number > More Formats > Custom Number Formats.
Step 3: In the “Custom number formats” dialog box, delete any codes and replace them with three semicolons (;;;) without quotes.
Step 4: Click “Apply”. This will hide the selected cells.
Step 5: The selected cells will be hidden, but their data and formulas will still be included in the calculations.
You can benefit from using cells instead of entire rows when hiding data. This way, you can specifically target the data you want to conceal. If you hide an entire row, you may hide cells you need to keep visible. Although it takes longer, hiding individual cells can be useful when dealing with isolated information among visible data.
Alternatively, you can display the cells again by removing the custom format via Format > Number > Automatic.
How to Hide and Unhide Rows in Google Sheets
How to Hide Rows in Google Sheets
Method 1: Using the Right-Click Menu
To hide rows in Google Sheets using the right-click menu, follow these steps:
Step 1: Select the rows you want to hide.
Step 2: Right-click on any cell in the last row you selected.
Step 3: Click on “Hide rows XX - YY” from the options.
Method 2: Using Keyboard Shortcut
Step 1: Select the rows you want to hide.
Step 2: Press Ctrl + 9 (or Cmd + 9 on macOS).
How to Unhide Rows in Google Sheets
To unhide rows, simply click on the arrows that appear when you hide rows:
Consider using these two methods below for better clarity:
Method 1: Using the Right-Click Menu
Step 1: Select the all rows containing the arrow icons
Step 2: Right-click and choose “Unhide rows” from the menu.
Method 2: Using Keyboard Shortcut
Step 1: Select the rows that contain the arrow icons.
Step 2: Press Ctrl + Shift + 9 (or Cmd + Shift + 9 on macOS).
How to Hide and Unhide Columns in Google Sheets
Like rows, hiding irrelevant or confidential columns keeps sheets focused and clean. The steps are nearly identical:
How to Hide Columns in Google Sheets
Method 1: Using the Right-Click
Step 1: Select the column letter(s) to hide by clicking the letters above. Choose single or multiple columns.
Step 2: Right-click and choose the “Hide columns X - Y” option from the drop-down menu.
Method 2: Using Shortcut
Step 1: Select column(s) to hide.
Step 2: Press Ctrl + 0 (or Cmd + 0 on macOS).
How to Hide Multiple Columns in Google Sheets
For non-contiguous columns:
Step 1: Press and hold Ctrl to select multiple columns to hide.
Step 2: Right-click on any column letter and choose Hide columns.
Note:
You can execute this action quickly using the previously mentioned shortcut (Ctrl + 0).
How to Unhide Columns in Google Sheets
If you want to reveal hidden columns, all you need to do is click on the arrows that appear when you hide the columns:
For better clarity, it is recommended to consider using the following two methods:
Method 1: Using the Right-Click Menu
Step 1: Select all columns containing the arrow icons.
Step 2: Right-click and choose “Unhide columns” from the menu.
Method 2: Using Keyboard Shortcut
Step 1: Select the columns containing the arrow icons.
Step 2: Press Ctrl + Shift + 9 (or Cmd + Shift + 9 on macOS).
Best Free Alternative to Google Sheets – WPS Spreadsheet
What Is WPS Office?
WPS Office is a free Windows and Mac office suite that lets you easily open, create, and edit Word docs, PowerPoints, PDFs, and Excel spreadsheets. It is fully compatible with editing Microsoft Office files like .docx, .pptx, and .xlsx, with no formatting loss between them.
WPS Office offers unique features, including built-in PDF tools, extensive formatting options, a file recovery tool, and AI features. In particular, WPS AI offers content generation, document summarization, PDF interaction, OCR text recognition, and upcoming data analysis in spreadsheets. It enhances productivity for education, work, and insights.
Unlike web-based Google Docs Editors, which operates primarily in the cloud, WPS Office is a desktop-based solution that allows users to work offline. This can be a significant advantage for users who need to access and edit documents without an internet connection.
How to Hide Rows in WPS Spreadsheet
To hide rows or columns in WPS Office, you can select a specific row or column or multiple rows or columns you want to hide. For example, if you want to hide columns I, J, and K, you should right-click on them and choose the “Hide” option from the pop-up menu.
To unhide a column, select the columns on both sides of the hidden column, right-click, and choose the “Unhide” option. The process for hiding and unhiding rows is similar to that of columns.
Additionally, to delete a row or column, you can select it, right-click, and choose the “Delete” option from the pop-up menu.
FAQs
Is there a way to hide rows based on a condition?
Yes, you can use the “Create a filter” feature. Select the column header, click “Create a filter,” and then use the filter options to hide rows based on specific criteria.
Can I protect hidden rows from being unhidden by others?
Yes, you can protect sheets or ranges with a password. Right-click on the sheet tab, choose “Protect sheet”, and set a password. This prevents others from unhiding rows without the password.
What if I forget which rows are hidden?
Click any column header dropdown to see missing row numbers listed and unhide from there. Also, color code hidden rows - select them before hiding, right-click, and choose a color to stand out visually.
Summary
This tutorial covered easy methods for hiding rows in Google Sheets using right-click menus and handy keyboard shortcuts to simplify data views. For a free and full-powered alternative without subscriptions, WPS Office matches Google Sheets’ features for fast, intuitive organization. Both Google Sheets and free WPS Spreadsheet enable excellent spreadsheet organization through intuitive hide/unhide features for decluttering data quickly.
