How to Hide and Unhide Columns in Excel (7 Methods)

Dataset Overview

To demonstrate these methods, we’ve prepared a dataset showing information about targets, sales, and profits for a set of products during the first half of the year in a company.

Method 1 – Use Context Menu to Hide and Unhide Columns

• Select the column you want to hide (e.g., Column D).

• Right-click on the selected column and choose Hide from the Context Menu.

• Column D will no longer be visible in the worksheet.
• You’ll notice a double line on the headings bar, indicating a hidden column.

• To unhide column D, select adjacent columns C and E.

• Right-click and choose Unhide from the Context Menu.

• Alternatively, drag the cursor icon to the right to reveal the hidden column.

Read More: How to Hide Columns with Button in Excel

Method 2 – Hide and Unhide Columns with Format Tool

• Select the column you want to hide (e.g., Column E).
• If hiding multiple columns, press Ctrl and select the desired columns.

• Go to the Home tab and click Format under the Cells group.

• Choose Hide & Unhide from the Visibility section of the Format drop-down.
• Select Hide Columns.

• Column E will be hidden, indicated by double lines in the headings bar.

• To unhide, select adjacent columns C and E.

• Go to the Format drop-down and choose Unhide Columns.

Read More: Hide Columns with No Data in Excel

Method 3 – Apply Group Feature to Hide and Unhide Columns

• Select columns C and D.

• Go to the Data tab and choose Group under the Outline section.

• The Group feature activates, grouping columns C and D.

• Click the Minus (–) icon to hide the columns.

• To unhide, click the Plus (+) icon.

• You can also use the toggle view (click 1 to hide and 2 to unhide).

• To disable this feature, go to the Home tab and select Ungroup under the Outline section.

Method 4 – Insert Keyboard Shortcuts

• Select any cell or adjacent cells (e.g., cell E7).

• Press Ctrl + 0 to hide Column E.

• To unhide, press Alt and type H + O + U + L sequentially on your keyboard.
• It will unhide column E as shown in the image below:

Read More: How to Hide Columns Without Right Click in Excel

Method 5 – Change Column Width to Hide and Unhide Columns

• Select column C or more than two columns if desired.

• Right-click and choose Column Width.

• In the new window, type 0 as the column width and press OK.

• The column is now hidden.

• To unhide it, select any cell and type the cell reference of the hidden column in the Name box (e.g., C1).
• You’ll see a cursor icon over the hidden column.

• Go to the Home tab, click Format under the Cells group, and select Column Width from the drop-down.

• Type a numeric value to determine the hidden column width and press OK.

• Column C will be unhidden.

Read More: How to Hide Multiple Columns in Excel

Method 6 – Hide and Unhide Columns with Excel VBA

• Go to the Developer tab and select Visual Basic under the Codes group.

• In the Visual Basic window, choose Module from the Insert section.

• Insert the following code on the blank page:

Sub HideColumns()

    Columns("D").EntireColumn.Hidden = True

End Sub

• Click the Run Sub button or press F5 on your keyboard.

• Column D will be hidden.

• To unhide it, create a new Visual Basic page and insert this code:

Sub UnhideColumns()

    Cells.EntireColumn.Hidden = False

End Sub

• Run this code with a similar procedure to unhide column D.

Sub HideMultipleColumns()

    Columns("A:C").EntireColumn.Hidden = True

End Sub

Method 7 – Use Go To Feature to Hide and Unhide Columns

• Select column B and right-click on it.
• Click Hide to hide column B.

• You can see that column B is hidden.

• To unhide it, go to the Home tab and click Find & Select.

• Choose Go To from the drop-down.

• Insert the reference as B1 in the Go To window (since our hidden column is B) and press OK.

• If the hidden column is still not visible:
  • Go to the Home tab, select Format under the Cells group, and click Unhide Columns.

• You will be able to see the hidden column B.

Read More: How to Hide Extra Columns in Excel

How to Check the Number of Hidden Columns in Excel?

• Go to the File tab on the Excel ribbon.

• Navigate to Info and click Check for Issues.
• Select Inspect Document from the drop-down.

• Choose your preferred option regarding saving the file.

• In the Document Inspector window, ensure that Hidden Rows and Columns are marked.
• Click Inspect to find the result of hidden columns in the worksheet.

• You will find the result of hidden columns in this worksheet.

Download Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here:

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