How to Hide Columns in Excel

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A complete guide to shielding Excel columns so they aren’t visible to others
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Want to hide certain columns in your spreadsheet? Hiding columns in Excel is a great way to get a better look at your data, especially when printing. We'll show you how to hide columns in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, as well as how to show columns that you've hidden.

Steps

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    • If Excel is already open, you can open your spreadsheet by pressing Ctrl + O (Windows) or Cmd + O (macOS) and then selecting the file.
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    This selects the entire column. [1]
    • For example, to select the first column (column A), click the A at the top of the column.
    • If you want to hide multiple columns at once, just click and drag your cursor over the column letters you want to hide.
    • You can also select multiple non-adjacent columns by holding down Ctrl as you click each column letter.
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    This brings up a menu. [2]
    • If you don't have multiple mouse buttons, hold down the Ctrl key as you click the column(s) instead.
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    Any selected columns are now hidden. [3]
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    If you want to show columns that are hidden, just click any column adjacent to those hidden to select it, and then choose Unhide .
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/hide-or-show-rows-or-columns-659c2cad-802e-44ee-a614-dde8443579f8
      2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/hide-or-show-rows-or-columns-659c2cad-802e-44ee-a614-dde8443579f8
      3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/hide-or-show-rows-or-columns-659c2cad-802e-44ee-a614-dde8443579f8

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open your spreadsheet.
      2. Select the column(s) you want to hide.
      3. Right-click the selected column(s).
      4. Click Hide .

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