How to Clear Content in Excel (4 Methods)

Method 1 – Clear Content Using a Keyboard Shortcut

1.1 Clear Content of a Single Cell

Select the cell from which you want to clear contents and press the Del / Delete key on your keyboard.

select single cell and press Delete to clear content

The content of that cell is cleared.

content of the single cell is cleared

1.2 Clear Content from a Range of Cells

Select the range of cells and press the Del/Delete key on your keyboard.

select range and press Delete to clear contents

The content of that range of cells is cleared.

Contents of range are deleted

1.3 Clearing Content from an Entire Row or Column

Select the row or column whose contents you want to clear and press the Del / Delete key on your keyboard.

Select row and press Delete

The content of that row or column is cleared.

Contents of row are deleted

1.4 Clear Contents from a Whole Worksheet

Click the Select All button at the top left corner and press the Del / Delete key.

select entire sheet and press Delete

This removes all the contents from the worksheet.

contents of the sheet are deleted

Method 2 – Utilizing the Clear Button from the Editing Option

2.1 Clear All Content

Steps:

Select the cells or range of cells that you want to clear contents from and go to Home > Editing > Clear.
Select Clear All.

Select cells and go to Editing and then Clear All to clear all contents

All the contents is cleared.

All contents are cleared

Note: You can also access the Clear Contents option in the context menu by right-clicking on your mouse over a range of data.

2.2 Clear Formatting from Cells

Select the cells from where you want to clear the formatting and go to Home > Editing > Clear > Clear Formats.

Select Clear Formats to clear formatting

The formatting will be removed without the contents.

Formattings are cleared

Method 3 – Applying the Go To Special Tool to Clear Content

Steps:

Press the F5.
The Go To window appears. Click Special.

Go to Special Tool to clear contents

The Go To Special window appears.
Select the Constants option from the Select group and click OK.

Select Constants and click on OK

Press the Del / Delete.

Press Delete to clear selected contents

Method 4 – Using VBA to Clear Content

Select the cells whose contents you want to clear and go to the Developer tab >> Visual Basic.

Select cells and go to Visual Basic to clear contents

Insert a new module by going to Insert > Module and enter the following code:

Sub Clear_Cells_from_Selection()
Selection.Clear
End Sub

Save the workbook as .xlsm file and Run the code.

Insert code and click on Run to clear contents using VBA

The selected cells are cleared.

Cells are cleared using VBA

Things to Remember

Select the cells carefully to delete contents from.
The Del / Delete key does not clear any formatting or comments from the cells. It just clears values.
Save the Excel file as an enabled one; otherwise, you can not run the code.

Download the Practice Workbook

You can practice on your own by downloading the free Excel worksheet.

Clear Contents.xlsm

Clear Contents in Excel: Knowledge Hub

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