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Home Excel Excel Resources Excel Tips Grouping Columns in Excel
 

Grouping Columns in Excel

Pradeep S
Article byPradeep S
Madhuri Thakur
Reviewed byMadhuri Thakur

Updated August 21, 2023

Grouping Columns in Excel

 

 

Excel Grouping Columns

Sometimes the worksheet contains complex data, which is very difficult to read & analyze. To Access & read these types of data more easily, the grouping of cells will help you out. Grouping of columns or rows is used if you want to visually group items or to monitor them in a concise & organized manner under one heading or if you want to hide or show data for better display & presentation. Grouping is very useful & most commonly used in accounting & finance spreadsheets. Under the Data tab in the Ribbon, you can find the Group option in the outline section. In this topic, we will learn about Grouping Columns in Excel.

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Grouping Columns in Excel ribbon

Shortcut Key to Group Columns or Rows

Shift+Alt+Right Arrow is the shortcut key to group columns or rows, whereas

Shift+Alt+Left Arrow is the shortcut key to ungroup columns or rows.

Definition Grouping of Columns in Excel

It’s a process where you visually group the column items or datasets for a better display.

How to Enable Grouping of Columns in Excel?

Let’s check out how to group columns & How to collapse & expand columns after grouping columns.

You can download this Grouping Columns Excel Template here – Grouping Columns Excel Template

Example #1 – Grouping of Columns in Excel

Grouping columns in Excel works well for structured data where it should contain column headings and not have blank column or row data.

Initially, you must select the column you want to group (i.e., B, C, D, and E columns). Go to the Data tab, then click on the group option under the outline section.

Grouping Example 1.1

Click on the columns and then press OK.

Grouping Excel dialog box

Now you can observe in the data the columns are grouped perfectly, and the outline bars you can observe at the top represent different levels of data organization. Grouping also introduces a toggle option, or it will create a hierarchy of groups, known as an outline, to help your worksheet appear organized, where each bar represents a level of organization (Grouping is also referred to as Outlines.)

Grouping Example 1.2

How to Collapse & Expand Columns After Column Grouping

you can press the “-” buttons in the margin to collapse the columns (B, C, D, and E Columns completely disappear), or in case you want to expand them again, press the “+” buttons in the margin (B, C, D, E Columns appears)

collapse & expand columns 1

Another way to access data is the use of 1 or 2 options on the left side of the worksheet, i.e. it is called a state, 1st option is called a hidden state (if you click on it, it will hide B, C, D, E Columns,) whereas 2nd option is called unhidden state, it will expand those hidden columns, I.E. B, C, D, E Columns appears

collapse & expand columns 2

To Ungroup Columns in Excel

Select the columns you wish to ungroup (i.e., the one,s you have previously grouped). On the Data tab, in the Outline group, click on Ungroup command.

Ungrouping Columns in Excel 1

Click on the columns and then press OK.

Ungrouping Columns in Excel dialogue box

Now, you can observe data bars & “+” buttons and “-” buttons disappear in the Excel sheet once the ungroup option is selected.

Ungrouping Columns in Excel 2

Example #2 – Multiple Grouping of Columns for Sales Data in Excel

In the below-mentioned example, the Table contains product monthly sales data from Jan to Dec, which is also represented in quarterly & yearly sales.

Here the data is structured and contains no blank cells, hidden rows, or columns.

Multiple Grouping of columns Example 2.1

I don’t want all the monthly sales data to be displayed; I want only quarterly & yearly sales data to be displayed; it can be done through multiple grouping of column options.

Go to the Data tab in the Home ribbon, which will open a toolbar below it. Initially, I need to select the column I want to group it; now, let’s select the months (i.e., Jan, Feb, and Mar columns). Then click on the group option under the outline section; now, you can observe that the columns are grouped perfectly in the data.

Multiple Grouping of columns Example 2.2

Click on the columns and then press OK.

Multiple Grouping of columns dialogue box

A similar procedure is applied or followed for the month of Apr, May, Jun & Jul, Aug, Sep & Oct, Nov, and Dec columns.

Multiple Grouping of columns Example 2.3

Once the grouping of the above-mentioned monthly columns is done, you can observe that the columns are grouped perfectly in a dataset. The four outline bars at the top represent different data organization levels.

Collapsing & Expanding Columns After Column Grouping

You can press the “–” symbol or buttons in the outline bar to collapse all the month columns; once you are done, you can observe all the month Columns completely disappear, and Positive or “+” buttons in the outline bar appear.

Multiple Grouping of columns Example 2.4

Now, the sales data looks in a concise & compact form, and it looks like well-organized & structured financial data. If you want to check any specific monthly sales data, you can expand them again by pressing the “+” buttons in the outline bar so that all the monthly sales data will appear.

Multiple Grouping of columns Example 2.5

Another way to access or hide monthly data is the use of 1 or 2 options on the left side of the worksheet, i.e., it is called a state, 1st option is called a hidden state (On a single click on it, it will hide all the month Columns) whereas 2nd option is called unhidden state, it will expand those hidden columns, I.E., all the month Columns appears.

Things to Remember

Grouping columns or rows in Excel is useful for creating and maintaining well-organized and well-structured financial sales data.

It is a better & superior alternative for hiding & unhiding cells; sometimes, it is not clear to the other Excel spreadsheet user if you use the hide option. He needs to track which columns or rows you have hidden & where you have hidden.

Before applying the grouping of columns or rows in Excel, You have to ensure that your structured data should not contain any hidden or blank rows & columns; otherwise, your data will be grouped incorrectly.

Apart from grouping, you can also summarize datasets in different groups with the help of the Subtotal command.

subtotal command

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Grouping Columns in Excel. Here we discussed How to Enable the Grouping of Columns in Excel, Examples, and a downloadable Excel template. You may also look at these useful functions in Excel –

  1. Excel Move Columns
  2. VBA Columns
  3. Freeze Columns in Excel
  4. Switching Columns in Excel

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