Lesson: Working with Rows and Columns

Inserting Rows and Columns

To insert a row or a column into a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

1. Select a cell in your worksheet where you would like the new row or column to be inserted. To insert multiple rows or columns, simply select multiple cells.
   1. New rows are inserted above the selected cell(s).
   2. New columns are inserted to the left of selected cell(s).
2. On the HOME tab, in the Cells group, click the Insert command.
3. Select Insert Sheet Rows or Insert Sheet Columns:

Deleting Rows and Columns

To delete a row or a column in a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

1. Select a cell in your worksheet in the row or column you wish to delete. To delete multiple rows or columns, simply select multiple cells.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Cells group, click the Delete command.
3. Select Delete Sheet Rows or Delete Sheet Columns:

Transposing Rows and Columns

You may at times determine that data you have already entered in a worksheet would be presented more logically by transposing rows and columns.

To transpose rows and columns:

1. Select the cells with the headings and the data that you want to flip.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Clipboard group, select Copy.
3. Place your cursor in a blank cell in the worksheet, which will become the top-left cell in the transposed group.
4. Right-click and select the Paste Special arrow, and then click Paste Special.
5. In the Paste Special dialog box, check the Transpose check box and click OK.
6. The data now appears with the rows and columns swapped.

Setting Row Height and Column Width

Set a Specific Height or Width

To change the row height or column width of rows and columns in a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

1. Select a cell in your worksheet in the row or column of which you wish to change the height or width. To change the height or width of multiple rows or columns, simply select multiple cells.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Cells group, click the Format command.
3. Select Row Height or Column Width:
4. In the Row Height dialog box or the Column Width dialog box, enter the new size of the row or column:
   1. Rows are measured in points, with each point equaling approximately 1/72 of an inch.
   2. Columns are measured in characters, so the value entered is equal to the number of characters that will fit in the cell (assuming you are using the standard font).

AutoFit Row Height or Column Width

When you AutoFit the row height or column width, Excel sets the height or width based on the contents in the row or column. To AutoFit the row height or column width:

1. Select a cell in your worksheet in the row or column of which you wish to change the height or width. To change the height or width of multiple rows or columns, simply select multiple cells.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Cells group, click the Format command.
3. Select AutoFit Row Height or AutoFit Column Width:

Hiding and Unhiding Rows and Columns

Hiding Rows and Columns

To hide rows or columns in a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

1. Select a cell in your worksheet in the row or column you wish to hide. To hide multiple rows or columns, simply select multiple cells.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Cells group, click the Format command.
3. Select Hide & Unhide and then Hide Rows or Hide Columns:

Unhiding Rows and Columns

To unhide rows or columns in a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

1. Select cells on either side (above and below or to the left and right) of the row(s) or column(s) you wish to unhide. Note: use your Shift key or make sure you have the whole range. Example:If you hide column E, then you must select column D thru F (including E).
2. On the HOME tab, in the Cells group, click the Format command.
3. Select Hide & Unhide and then Unhide Rows or Unhide Columns:

Freezing Panes

Freezing panes is a way of making one or more rows or columns stay at the top or left of your worksheet as you scroll through the worksheet. A common use of freezing panes is to keep a header row in view as you scroll through a large worksheet.

In the following example, notice that the top row includes labels for each column:

After scrolling down in the worksheet, however, the top row is not visible:

In the following image, the top row is frozen, so the labels are visible even after scrolling down in the worksheet:

To freeze panes in a Microsoft Excel worksheet:

1. On the VIEW tab, in the Window group, click the Freeze Panes command.
2. Select Freeze Panes to freeze the rows above and the columns to the left of the selected cell.
3. Select Freeze Top Row to freeze the top row only.
4. Select Freeze First Column to freeze the first column only.

Working with Rows and Columns

In this exercise, you will insert rows into a Microsoft Excel worksheet, hide rows, and adjust column widths and row heights.

1. Continue working in the workbook from the last exercise or open Dave's Lemonade Stand - Working with Rows and Columns.xlsx from your Excel2013.1/Exercises folder.
2. Insert two rows between row 7 and row 8.
3. Hide the inserted rows.
4. Increase the width of column A to 25.
5. Increase the width of columns B:E to 17.
6. Autofit row heights for all active rows.
7. Save the workbook.

Solution: