How to mass delete cells in excel

Answer

To mass delete cells in Excel, select the cells you want removed and use one of these methods: the Ribbon or right-click menu, keyboard shortcuts, Go To Special (for blanks), AutoFilter, or a short VBA macro for large or complex deletes

Method 1 — Delete selected cells (shift cells up/left, delete entire rows/columns)

1. Select the range of cells to delete.

2. On Windows press Ctrl + - (minus) to open the Delete dialog, or right-click the selection and choose Delete….

3. Choose one option:

   1. Shift cells left — fills the gap by moving cells to the right into the selection.

   2. Shift cells up — fills the gap by moving cells below upward.

   3. Entire row — removes whole rows that intersect the selection.

   4. Entire column — removes whole columns that intersect the selection.

4. Click OK.

Mac difference: Use ⌘ + - (Command + minus) to open the Delete dialog, or right-click (Control-click) and pick Delete…. The dialog choices are the same.

Method 2 — Delete blank cells fast (Go To Special)

1. Select the full range or column where blanks appear.

2. Press F5, then click Special…, or use Home → Find & Select → Go To Special.

3. Choose Blanks and click OK. Excel selects every blank cell in the range.

4. Press Ctrl + - (Windows) or ⌘ + - (Mac).

5. Choose Shift cells up (common) and click OK.

This removes blank cells and collapses the data so no empty rows remain inside the selection.

Method 3 — Delete rows that meet a condition (AutoFilter)

1. Select the header row, then choose Data → Filter.

2. Use the filter dropdown to show only the rows to remove (for example, blank values, specific text, or a number range).

3. Select the filtered rows (click the first visible row, then Shift + click the last visible row).

4. Right-click a selected row number and choose Delete Row, or press Ctrl + - (Windows) / ⌘ + - (Mac) and choose Entire row.

This removes rows cleanly without altering hidden rows.

Method 4 — Delete by search (Find & Replace → Select All → Delete)

1. Press Ctrl + F and enter the value or text to remove.

2. Click Find All, then press Ctrl + A to select all found cells.

3. Right-click any selected cell and choose Delete… or press Ctrl + -.

4. Pick a suitable delete option (shift up/left or entire row/column) and click OK.

This works for deleting every cell that contains a specific string or value.

Method 5 — Mass delete using a simple VBA macro (for very large or repeated tasks)

1. Press Alt + F11 (Windows) or Option + F11 (Mac) to open the VBA editor.

2. Insert a new Module.

3. Paste the macro below and run it when you need a bulk deletion.

   Sub Delete_BlankCells_ShiftUp()

       Dim rng As Range

       On Error Resume Next

       Set rng = Application.InputBox("Select range to remove blank cells from:", Type:=8)

       On Error GoTo 0

       If rng Is Nothing Then Exit Sub

       Application.ScreenUpdating = False

       Dim c As Range

       For Each c In rng.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeBlanks)

           c.Delete Shift:=xlUp

       Next c

       Application.ScreenUpdating = True

   End Sub

4. 
   

1. The macro prompts for a range and removes blank cells, shifting cells up.

2. Save the workbook as a macro-enabled file (.xlsm) if you plan to reuse the macro.

Mac difference: The VBA editor and macro behavior are the same in modern Excel for Mac. Use Option + F11 if Alt + F11 does not work.

Method 6 — Use Power Query for structured mass deletions (recommended for complex transforms)

1. Select the data and choose Data → From Table/Range to load into Power Query.

2. In Power Query, remove rows by filter, remove columns, or remove blank rows using the interface.

3. Click Close & Load to return cleaned data to the worksheet.

Power Query is non-destructive to source data and is repeatable for refreshed data sets.

Practical tips and safety steps

1. Always create a backup copy of the workbook before running large deletions.

2. Use Undo (Ctrl + Z) immediately after a mistaken delete when possible.

3. When deleting entire rows or columns, check for formulas that reference those rows or columns first.

4. Use filters or helper columns to mark rows for deletion before removing them.

5. Keep macros limited to trusted files; store reusable macros in the Personal Macro Workbook if you need them across files.

When should you use which method?

1. Use the Delete dialog (Ctrl/⌘ + -) for quick ad-hoc deletions of contiguous selections.

2. Use Go To Special → Blanks when removing empty cells inside a range.

3. Use Filter to delete rows that meet visible criteria without disturbing other rows.

4. Use Find & Select to target cells with specific content.

5. Use VBA for large, repeated or conditional deletions across many sheets.

6. Use Power Query when the data needs repeatable, auditable transformations.

How to recover data after an accidental mass delete

1. Answer: Yes. Use Undo (Ctrl + Z) immediately to restore deleted cells.

2. If the file was saved after deletion, close without saving and reopen the previous version.

3. Use File → Info → Version History to restore an earlier saved version where available.

4. If macOS Time Machine or cloud versioning (OneDrive, SharePoint) is enabled, restore from those backups.

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