How to Insert & Delete Columns & Rows in Excel

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0:01 Add or Remove a Row or Column
0:59 Ribbon or Right-Click?
2:07 Using the Ribbon Commands
3:43 Using the Right-Click Method
5:02 Short-cut Keyboard Commands
5:51 Lesson Summary

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Instructor: Karen Sorensen

Karen has a Bachelors in Communications. She has 25 years of experience in Information Systems, Adult Learning and Virtual Training.

The next time your create a spreadsheet, you will undoubtedly find yourself in need of being able to insert and delete rows and/or columns. This lesson will detail the steps to adding and removing rows and columns in Excel.

Add or Remove a Row or Column

Imagine you just spent the last two hours creating a spreadsheet for your monthly budget. You have listed and titled the bills to pay and created a couple line items for income. Everything is listed in the first column on the left of your spreadsheet. You have also created column headings for each month of the year and titled each column appropriately. This will allow you to enter and track actual expenditures for each month.

However, we have a couple issues with our spreadsheet. Somehow, we missed the month of August, so that column will need to be inserted. In addition, a row will need to be inserted since we didn't add the payment for our auto insurance. Finally, we thought the car payment should be paid twice during the month - well, I hope not! Anyway, we need to remove a row to delete the extra car payment.

This lesson will review the common ways to insert and/or delete rows and columns in MS Excel.

Ribbon or Right-Click?

MS Excel has several ways to accomplish one goal. You might wonder why an application would give you more than one way to get something done, such as adding a row or column. Here is the answer. Not everyone uses the tool the same way, and not every user has the same comfort level. For example, it took me some time to prefer a mouse click over a keyboard stroke. And when Microsoft came out with the new ribbon format for their Office products, I struggled. I didn't know where the commands were located in the ribbon, and as a result, I used the 'right click with your mouse' method a lot!

There are basically three ways to take action in Excel. Keep in mind, whichever way you choose, there is no wrong or right way. It's really up to you. I have found myself using all three, depending on what I need to accomplish.

Let's review each option:

Use the ribbon commands
Right click with your mouse
Using keyboard shortcut commands

Using the Ribbon Commands

Below are the steps to using the ribbon commands to add or remove rows and columns. In this lesson video, let's demonstrate the steps using the personal budget spreadsheet. Remember, we need to add a column for August, add a row for the auto insurance and remove the duplicate row for the car payment.

Here are the steps to add or remove columns:

Select the column to the right of where you want to add a column or select the column you want to remove.
Go to the Home menu in the ribbon.
Look in the Cells grouping of commands.
Click on the Insert command to add a column or the Delete command to remove a column. The column will be inserted to the left of the selected column or the column selected will be removed, depending on your choice to insert or delete.

Now let's take a look at the steps to adding and removing rows:

Select by selecting the row below where you want to add a row or select the row that you want to remove.
Go to the Home menu in the ribbon.
Look in the Cells grouping of commands.
Click on the Insert command to add a row or the Delete command to remove a row. The row will be inserted above the selected column or the row selected will be removed, depending on your choice to insert or delete.

Using the Right Click Method

Now let's take a look at using the right-click method. Let's use the same spreadsheet example in our lesson video, our personal budget. Again, we will add a column for August, add a row for the auto insurance bill and remove the duplicate row for the car payment.

First, we'll go through the steps to add or remove columns:

Right click with your mouse on the column reference letter. That's the A, B, C across the top.
Click on Insert to add or Delete to remove.

Now let's look at how to add or remove rows:

Right-click with your mouse on the row reference number. That's the 1, 2, 3 along the left-hand side.
Click on Insert to add or Delete to remove.

Just a hint: You can also right-click anywhere in a column or row and choose Insert from the drop-down menu. However, since this only selects a cell, Excel will not know if you need to add a column or a row. You will need to complete one additional step and choose whether you need an entire row or an entire column.

Short-Cut Keyboard Commands

So if all else fails, and you prefer keyboard commands to ribbons and right-clicks, there are options that work very nicely. Using keyboard commands to delete Rows or delete Columns begins with selecting the row or column you want to delete. The keyboard action is CTRL -. You hold down the control key and click on the minus symbol in your 10-key pad.

Now, using keyboard commands to insert rows or insert columns begins with placing your mouse below where you want to insert a row or to the right of where you want to insert a column. The keyboard action here is CTRL +. Hold down the control key and click on the plus symbol in your 10-key pad.

Lesson Summary

So there you have it. This lesson demonstrated three different ways to add or remove rows and columns. Depending on your preference, you can go to the ribbon commands and click on Insert or Delete. Or if you prefer, right click on a column or row and select Insert or Delete from the drop-down menu. Finally, if you prefer, keyboard commands, like CTRL - to remove and CTRL + to add, work well too. You choose!

Learning Outcome

Once you complete the video lesson, you should be able to create or remove columns and rows in an Excel spreadsheet using one of three different methods.

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Recommended Lessons and Courses for You

Add or Remove a Row or Column

Ribbon or Right-Click?

Using the Ribbon Commands

Using the Right Click Method

Short-Cut Keyboard Commands

Lesson Summary

Learning Outcome

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