Delete Row in Excel: Methods and Keyboard Shortcuts

To delete a row in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, click its numbered row heading, right-click, and choose Delete. You can also select the row and press Ctrl+- (minus). The entire worksheet row is removed and the rows below move up; this is different from clearing the cells while leaving the row in place.

Delete a worksheet row from the ribbon or menu

Excel offers several ways to remove a complete worksheet row. The row-heading method is easy to recognize because it selects the row before you delete it:

Find the row number along the left edge of the worksheet.
Click the number to select the entire row. To select more than one row, drag across the row numbers or use the selection methods below.
Right-click the selected row heading and choose Delete.

You can use the ribbon instead: select a cell in the row, then choose Home > Cells > Delete > Delete Sheet Rows. That command deletes the worksheet row containing the active cell. If you select multiple rows first, the command removes those rows.

In Excel for Mac, the same general options are available: use the row heading’s context menu or the Home tab’s Delete menu. Excel for the web also supports deleting from a row heading’s context menu, although keyboard behavior can depend on the browser and its shortcuts. If a shortcut does not work as expected, use the menu command so you can verify what Excel is about to remove.

Use the keyboard shortcut

On Windows, select the row by clicking its heading, then press Ctrl+-. The minus key may be labeled with a hyphen on the keyboard. If you select only a cell or a range of cells and press the shortcut, Excel may open a Delete dialog instead. That dialog asks whether to shift cells left or up, or delete an entire row or column. Choose Entire row when that is what you intend.

On Mac, Control+- is the usual equivalent in Excel, but keyboard layouts and system settings can affect shortcut behavior. Selecting the row heading and using its context menu is a dependable alternative. Avoid confusing the delete-row shortcut with the Backspace or Delete key: those keys generally clear cell contents rather than remove the worksheet row.

After deleting, you can usually reverse the action immediately with Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac. Undo is most useful before making other changes; it is not a substitute for saving a copy before a large cleanup.

Delete one row, several rows, or a range

For a single row, click its row number. To select adjacent rows, click the first row number and drag to the last, or click the first and then Shift-click the last. Right-click within the highlighted row headings and choose Delete. For example, selecting headings 8 through 10 removes three complete rows; the rows formerly numbered 11 and below shift upward.

To select nonadjacent rows, hold Ctrl on Windows while clicking each row heading, then right-click a selected heading and delete. On a Mac, use Command while selecting separate headings. Check the highlighted selection before confirming: deleting nonadjacent rows can make later row numbers change, and the selection may not be obvious when the sheet is zoomed out.

You can also select a cell range and use the Delete dialog to remove the whole row or shift cells. These choices are not interchangeable. Shifting cells up affects only the selected columns and can misalign data in neighboring columns. To keep each record intact, select and delete its entire worksheet row, or use the appropriate table-row command for a table.

Worksheet rows, table rows, and clearing contents

A worksheet row spans all columns in the sheet, from column A through the last available column. Deleting it shifts the rows below it upward across the worksheet. Excel worksheets can contain up to 1,048,576 rows, but a particular sheet may use only a small portion of them.

An Excel table is a structured range with its own header, filters, and row behavior. To remove a record from a table, right-click a cell in that record and choose Delete > Table Rows when that option appears. This removes the table record rather than merely clearing its values. You can also select the table row and use the table-specific delete option from the context menu. Deleting a worksheet row that intersects a table can affect cells outside the table on that same sheet, so use Table Rows when your intention is to remove only a record.

If you want to keep the row but empty its data, select the cells and press Delete (or Backspace, depending on the keyboard). You can also use Home > Editing > Clear > Clear Contents. Clearing contents leaves the row number and its position unchanged; deleting the row makes the data below move up. This distinction matters when formulas, references, or other records depend on the current layout.

Deleting rows in filtered or hidden data

Filters hide records that do not match the current criteria; they do not remove those records. Deleting while a filter is active requires care because selecting worksheet row headings can include hidden rows in the selection. If your aim is to remove only records currently shown, avoid assuming that a broad row-heading selection will affect visible records alone.

For a filtered Excel table, select the visible table records you intend to remove and use the table’s Delete > Table Rows command. Verify the selected range first, especially if hidden rows are interspersed with visible ones. For a worksheet range that is not a table, consider copying the visible records to a temporary sheet, checking them, and then deleting the intended source rows individually or in carefully verified groups.

Hidden rows can also result from manually hiding rows or grouping an outline. Unhide the relevant rows before making a broad selection if you need to inspect what will be affected. The same caution applies to hidden columns and data outside the visible window: a worksheet-row deletion reaches across the sheet, not just the cells currently on screen.

What happens to formulas and formatting?

When a worksheet row is deleted, Excel generally adjusts formulas that refer to cells in the shifted area. For example, references to surviving cells may be updated to follow those cells. A formula that directly refers to a deleted cell can display a #REF! error because its target no longer exists. The precise result depends on the formula and the surrounding references, so check important totals and dependent sheets after deleting rows.

Deleting a row also removes its cell values, formulas, formatting, comments or notes, and other content in that row. Rows below move up, which can affect ranges used by charts, named ranges, data validation, or other workbook features. Excel may update some references automatically, but you should not assume every external connection, report, or manually maintained reference will remain correct.

Deleting a table row removes the record from the table and can change formulas that use structured references to that table. A formula such as a table total may recalculate based on the remaining records. If the deleted data is needed for an audit trail or later comparison, preserve a copy before removing it.

Common problems and safer alternatives

The Delete key only emptied cells: Select the row heading and use its Delete command, or use Home > Cells > Delete > Delete Sheet Rows.
Excel asks which cells to shift: You selected cells rather than a full row. Choose Entire row in the dialog, or cancel and select the row heading first.
The wrong records disappeared: Press Undo promptly, then check filters, hidden rows, and the highlighted selection before trying again.
Delete is unavailable: The sheet may be protected. Check Review > Unprotect Sheet; if protection requires a password, you need appropriate permission or the password to change the sheet.
You only need to hide a record temporarily: Filter it out or hide the row instead of deleting it. Hiding preserves the data and can be reversed.

Before a large deletion, save the workbook or make a separate copy. This is especially useful when removing rows from a shared workbook, a report that feeds other sheets, or a file with filtered data. Deleting duplicate-looking records is not always safe: two rows that appear alike may differ in an unseen column, formula, or identifier. Sort or filter to inspect the full records before removing them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I delete a row in Excel without deleting the data in other rows?
Select the row heading and choose Delete. Excel removes that row and shifts the rows below it up; their values remain, but their row numbers change. If you want to preserve row positions, clear the selected cells instead.

What is the shortcut to delete a row in Excel?
On Windows, select the row heading and press Ctrl+-. On Mac, Control+- is commonly used. If Excel opens a dialog, choose Entire row, or use the row heading’s context menu.

How do I delete multiple rows at once?
Select the adjacent row numbers by dragging across the headings, or use Ctrl-click on Windows (Command-click on Mac) for separate rows. Right-click one of the selected headings and choose Delete. Review the highlighted rows before confirming.

How do I delete a row from an Excel table?
Right-click a cell in the table record and choose Delete > Table Rows. This removes the table record. Use this instead of deleting an entire worksheet row when cells outside the table should not be affected.

Can I recover a row after deleting it?
Use Undo immediately—Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac—if the deletion is still in the undo history. If it is not, recovery may depend on whether you have a saved copy, version history, or another backup; Excel cannot guarantee recovery from every workbook or storage setup.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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