Shortcut to Delete Row in Excel

Excel Delete Row Shortcut (Table of Contents)

Shortcut to Delete Row in Excel
How to delete the excel row using the ribbon menu

To delete row in excel, we need to select the Rows which we want to delete and press Ctrl + Minus (“-“) sign together. This will eliminate the rows which we do not want. This can also be done by selecting the row in excel which choosing Delete Row option available in right-click menu list. We can even Delete a cell from any row, by selecting Shift Cell Up from Right-click menu’s Delete option. This will move the data up by cells position which we remove.

How to delete a row in excel using right-click menu without Shortcut

First select the row that you want to delete.
Right click on the row cell.
We will get the dialog box.
Click on delete so that the selected row will be deleted.

How to delete the excel row using the ribbon menu

In Microsoft excel we can find the delete cells on the home menu which is shown in the below screenshot.

Once you click on the delete cells we will get the following options:

Delete cells: Which are used to delete the selected cells.
Delete Sheet Rows: Which is used to delete the selected rows.
Delete Sheet Column: Which is used to delete the selected column.
Delete Sheet: Which is used to delete the entire sheet.

We will see all these options one by one.

Example #1

Delete Cells

Consider the below example which has sales data. Sometimes it is required to delete unwanted rows and columns in the data. So in this, we need to delete the cells which are shown in the below steps

Assume that we need to delete the row that has been highlighted in green color.

First, select the row you exactly need to delete as shown in the below figure.

Go to the delete cells. Click on the delete cells so that we will get the below delete option as shown in the below screenshot. Click on the second delete option called “delete sheet rows”

So that the selected row will be deleted as shown in the below screenshot

Now we can see the difference that the first column named SKU 69001 row has been deleted and the count of a row which has been highlighted in green color has been reduced to two rows before that the highlighted green color row count was three.

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Example #2

How to delete entire selected rows

In this example, we are going to see how to delete the entire row by following the below steps.

Here we need to delete the highlighted rows.

First select the highlighted row that we need delete as shown in the below screenshot.

Now click on the delete cells. Click on the second delete options “ delete sheet rows”

So that the selected entire row sheets will be deleted which is shown in the below output.

In the above screenshot we can see that selected rows have been deleted where we can see the difference that highlighted row has been deleted.

Example #3

(a) Use Keyboard shortcut to delete the row in excel

In Microsoft excel we have several shortcut keys for all function where we have a shortcut key for deleting the excel row and column also. The shortcut key for deleting the row in excel is CTRL +” -”( minus sign) and the shortcut key for inserting the row is CTRL +SHIFT+ ” +” (plus sign) and the same shortcuts can be used for inserting and deleting for the same. Mostly we will be using the number pad for inserting numbers. We can also use the number pad shortcut key to delete the row. The shortcut key to be applied is CTRL+”+”(Plus Sign).

Steps to use shortcut keys to delete the row in excel

The keyboard shortcut key to delete the row in excel is CTRL+ “-“i.e. Minus sign which we need to use.

First, select the cell where you exactly need to delete the row which is shown below.

Use the keyboard shortcut key. Hold CTRL Key and Press “-“ minus sign on the keyboard

So that the entire row will be deleted which is shown below.

Here we can see the difference that Product title name “Braun ES2 Hair Straightener “ row has been deleted as we notice that in the above screenshot.

(b) How to Delete Entire Rows in Excel Using the Keyboard Shortcut key

Consider the below example where we need to delete rows of the brand name “ BRAUN” which is highlighted for reference.

In order to delete the excel rows using keyboard shortcut follow the below steps.

First, select the row cells which has been highlighted in pink color.

Press CTRL key and hold it. By holding the CTRL key, press “-“ minus sign

Once you press the CTRL key and – key at a time the selected row will be deleted. We will get the below result which is shown in the below screenshot.

In the above screenshot, we can see that BRAND name called “BRAUN” rows has been completely deleted.

Example #4

Deleting Selected and Multiple Rows in Excel

Consider the below example where we can see unwanted blank rows in the sheet that makes the data inappropriate. In this scenario, we can delete the blank rows at a time using the keyboard shortcut or using delete cells menu.

Now we need to delete the blank rows in the above sales data and make the sheet with clear input.

In order to delete the multiple rows at a time follow the below simple steps.

First, hold the CTRL Key.
Select the entire blank rows by holding the CTRL key.
We can see that selected rows have been marked in blue color.
Now go to delete cells. Click on delete sheet rows.
Once you click on the delete sheet rows, all the selected rows will be deleted within a fraction of second.

We will get the result as follows which is given below.

In the above screenshot, we can notice that all blank rows are now deleted and the data looks better when compared to previous data.

Things to Remember About Delete Row Excel Shortcut

While deleting the data in excel make sure that the data is not required. However, we can retrieve the deleted rows by doing undo in excel.

You can download this Delete Row Shortcut Excel Template here – Delete Row Shortcut Excel Template