If you have a lot of data in a worksheet, or you're working on a small screen, you can hide values in Microsoft Excel to make information technology easier to view and analyze your data.

Here'southward everything you lot need to know on how to hide data in Excel and manage the information you lot desire to work with.

How to Hide Overflow Text in Excel

When y'all type text in a cell, and the text is wider than the cell, the text overflows into the next cells in the row. If there is any text in the adjacent cell, the text in the beginning cell is blocked by the text in the adjacent cell.

You can solve this by having the text wrap in the starting time jail cell. But that increases the height of the entire row.

If you don't want to evidence the overflow text, fifty-fifty when there is nothing in the next cells, y'all tin hide the overflow text.

Select the cell containing the text that's overflowing and practice one of the following:

  • Right-click on the selected cell(southward) and select Format Cells.
  • Press Ctrl + one.
Select Format Cells to hide overflow text in Excel

On the Format Cells dialog box, click the Alignment tab. Then, select Fill from the Horizontal dropdown listing and click OK.

Select Fill under Horizontal on Format Cells dialog box in Excel

The overflow text in the first cell does non show even when there is nothing in the cell to the right.

Overflow text hidden in Excel

Comments in Excel allow yous to annotate your worksheets. This is useful when collaborating on worksheets. You lot can set reminders or add notes for yourself or for others to explain formulas or how to apply part of a worksheet.

Y'all may desire to hide comments if there are many on your worksheet. The comments could make information technology hard to read your data.

Past default, cells with comments incorporate a pocket-sized colored triangle in the upper-right corner called a annotate indicator. These indicators tin also be hidden by going to the Excel options as we will see further downwards.

  • To hide a comment on an individual jail cell, select the jail cell and click Show Comments in the Comments section of the Review tab.
  • To show the comment over again, select the same jail cell and toggle the Show Comments button again.
  • You can also bear witness or hide comments on multiple cells by using the Shift and Ctrl keys to select the cells and toggle the visibility with Evidence Comment button.
  • To show all comments at once, just click the Testify Comments in the Comments group on the Review tab. This option shows all the comments on all open workbooks. While this option is on, whatever workbooks you open up or create will testify all comments until you toggle the button off.
Show All Comments in Excel
  1. To hide both the comments and comment indicators, go to File > Options.
  2. Click Advanced on the left, then curl down on the right to the Display section.
Hide comments and indicators in Excel
  1. Select No comments or indicators nether For cells with comments, bear witness. The indicators and comments are hidden, and the comments won't display when you hover over cells.
  2. To bear witness the comments and indicators once again, select ane of the other two options. You can also click Bear witness All Comments in the Comments section of the Review tab.

The options nether For cells with comments, show in the Excel Options and the Show All Comments selection on the Review tab are linked.

Comments are a must for constructive collaboration. So accept the try to larn all most managing comments in Excel if you share a workbook in a grouping.

You can't hide cells themselves, just y'all can hibernate cell contents in Excel. Maybe you accept some information referenced by other cells that do not demand to exist seen.

To hide the contents of a cell, select the prison cell(due south) you want to hide (apply Shift and Ctrl to select multiple cells). Then, exercise one of the following:

  • Right-click on the selected jail cell(south) and select Format Cells.
  • Press Ctrl + 1.

On the Format Cells dialog box, brand sure the Number tab is active. Select Custom in the Category box.

Before irresolute the Blazon, note what's currently selected. This way you know what to change information technology dorsum to when you decide to testify the content again.

Enter three semicolons (;;;) in the Blazon box and click OK.

Cell contents hidden in Excel

The contents in the selected cells are now subconscious, simply the value, formula, or office in each cell still displays in the Formula Bar.

The hidden content is still available to use in formulas and functions in other cells. If you replace the content in a subconscious cell, the new content will also be hidden. The new content is available for employ in other cells simply similar the original content.

To evidence the content in a cell again, follow the aforementioned steps above. Simply this time, choose the original Category and Type for the cell on the Format Cells dialog box.

When you lot hide a cell, every bit described in the previous section, y'all can still see the contents, formula, or role in the Formula Bar. To completely hibernate the contents of a prison cell, you must hide the Formula Bar besides.

On the View tab, uncheck the Formula Bar box in the Show section.

Hide the Formula Bar using the View tab in Excel

You can also hide the Formula Bar on the Excel Options dialog box.

Go to File > Options. Then, click Advanced on the left and uncheck the Show formula bar box in the Brandish section on the correct.

Hide the Formula Bar using Excel Options

Past default, when you enter a formula in a cell, the formula displays in the Formula Bar and the result displays in the jail cell.

If y'all don't want others to see your formulas, y'all can hibernate them. One way is to hide the Formula Bar using the method in the previous department. But anyone can reveal the Formula Bar again.

You can securely hide a formula in a prison cell by applying the Hidden setting to the prison cell then protecting the worksheet.

Select the cell(s) for which you want to hibernate the formula(southward) and exercise ane of the following:

  • Right-click on the selected cell(s) and select Format Cells.
  • Press Ctrl + 1.

On the Protection tab, cheque the Hidden box. Then, click OK.

Check the Hidden option in Excel

You lot still need to protect the canvass to hide the formulas.

Click Protect Sheet in the Protect section on the Review tab.

Click Protect Sheet in Excel

On the Protect Canvas dialog box, make certain the Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells box is checked.

In the Password to unprotect canvass box, enter a countersign to prevent others from unprotecting the worksheet. This is non required, but we recommend information technology.

By default, Select locked cells and Select unlocked cells are checked in the Let all users of this worksheet to box. You can check boxes for other actions you desire to permit users of your worksheet to perform, but you lot may not want to if you don't want other users to change your worksheet.

Enter your countersign again on the Confirm Password dialog box.

Protect Sheet with password in Excel

The formulas in the selected cells do not show in the Formula Bar now. Only you still see the results of the formulas in the cells, unless you lot've hidden the contents of those cells as described in the "How to Hide and Unhide Certain Cells" section above.

To show the formulas again, select the cells for which you want to show the formulas and click Unprotect Sheet in the Protect section of the Review tab.

If you entered a password when protecting the sheet, enter the countersign on the Unprotect Sheet dialog box that displays. If you didn't protect the canvass with a password, no further prompts are displayed.

Click Unprotect Sheet in Excel

The formulas won't evidence just still. Reverse the process you followed to hide the cell contents now and turn off the Hidden setting for them.

Select the cells for which you hid the formulas and do one of the post-obit:

  • Right-click on the selected jail cell(due south) and select Format Cells.
  • Press Ctrl + 1.

Uncheck the Hidden box on the Protection tab and click OK.

The formulas for the selected cells will now exist visible in the Formula Bar over again if you oasis't hidden the Formula Bar.

If you want to remove one or more rows or columns from a worksheet, but yous don't want to delete them, you can hide them. The process for rows and columns is almost similar with the exception of the keyboard shortcut.

Hide and Unhide Rows in Excel

To hibernate 1 or more consecutive rows, first select the rows. Then, practise ane of the following:

  • Right-click on the selected rows and select Hide.
  • Press Ctrl + 9.
Hide Rows in Excel

The selected rows are replaced with a double line in the row headings and a thick line where the rows were. When you click anywhere else on the worksheet, the thick line goes away. Merely you tin can tell where the hidden rows are by the missing row numbers and the double line in the row headings.

Cells in hidden rows and columns can nevertheless exist used for calculations while hidden.

Rows hidden in Excel marker

The fastest fashion to unhide a single row.Hover your mouse over the hidden row mark, and when the mouse pointer turns into a split two-headed pointer, double click it.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+9

Unhide specific adjacent rows. Select the rows above and beneath the hidden rows. Then, do 1 of the post-obit:

  • Right-click on the selected rows and select Unhide.
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + 9.

Unhide all rows in a worksheet. Click the Select All push (the piffling triangle at the intersection of the row and columns on the peak correct).

  • Correct-click and select Unhide.
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + 9.

What if you hide the commencement row? This method of unhiding doesn't piece of work on the commencement row of a worksheet because in that location is no row above the first row.

To select the first row, click in the Name box to the left of the Formula Bar, type in "A1" if the hidden row is the topmost in the sheet or "A2" if you are using column headings as in the screenshot below. Printing Enter. Then, printing Ctrl + Shift + 9.

Unhide the first row in Excel

Hibernate and Unhide Columns in Excel

The hide pick in Excel is similar for both rows and columns. Select the cavalcade or sequent columns you want to hide, and exercise one of the following:

  • Right-click on the selected columns, and select Hide.
  • Press Ctrl + 0 (zero).

The aforementioned double line and thick line you see when hiding rows display in place of the hidden columns. The column letters are besides hidden.

To show the columns once again, select the columns to the left and correct of the hidden columns. So, do i of the following:

  • Right-click on the selected columns and select Unhide.
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + 0 (zero).

If you've hidden the showtime cavalcade (A), you lot can unhide it as you do for when you hide the first row.

The fastest style is to elevate the colored line to the right and reveal the get-go subconscious row. Hover your mouse over the marking you see in the screen below till the cursor changes into a double-headed pointer. Drag to the right.

Unhide first column in Excel

To select the first column, click in the Proper noun box to the left of the Formula Bar, blazon in "A1", and press Enter. So, press Ctrl + Shift + 0 (nil).

There are some instances when the unhide keyboard shortcut doesn't work. Instead of using the shortcut, yous blazon "A1" and Enter to select the subconscious column. Then, go to Home > Cells Group > Format > Visibility > Hide & Unhide > Unhide Columns.

Unhide Columns from the Ribbon in Excel

If you've hidden a lot of rows and columns, you lot can unhide all the hidden columns at once.

Select the unabridged worksheet by clicking in the box between the row and cavalcade headers or pressing Ctrl + A. So, press Ctrl + Shift + 0 (zilch) to unhide all the hidden columns.

You tin also correct-click on the row or cavalcade headers while the entire worksheet is selected and select Unhide.

Show Only the Information You Want to Show in Excel

Hiding data is a simple but useful skill to learn in Excel, especially if you program to use your worksheets in a presentation. Enter all the data you need, even if you only demand some data for calculations or some is sensitive or individual.

You should also larn how to filter information in Excel to achieve a like result.

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