Clicking tiny column letters is slow and fiddly. The people who fly through Excel select whole columns and rows from the keyboard, then format, hide, insert or delete them in one more keystroke.
Step by step
- Click any cell in the column or row you need.
- Press Ctrl+Spacebar to select the entire column.
- Press Shift+Spacebar to select the entire row instead.
- Now act on it, for example Ctrl+0 to hide a column or Ctrl+Minus to delete it.
Tips & troubleshooting
- Select several adjacent cells first to select several columns or rows at once.
- Ctrl+A selects the current block of data; press it again to select the whole sheet.
Extending the selection
- More columns: after Ctrl+Spacebar, hold Shift and press Right or Left Arrow.
- More rows: after Shift+Spacebar, hold Shift and press Down or Up Arrow.
- Start from a range: select B2:D2 and press Ctrl+Spacebar to select columns B to D in one go.
- The whole sheet: press Ctrl+A twice, or Ctrl+Spacebar followed by Shift+Spacebar.
Inside a table the shortcuts behave differently
In an Excel table, Ctrl+Spacebar selects only that column's data within the table. Press it a second time to include the header, and a third time to select the whole worksheet column. Shift+Spacebar selects the table row first and the worksheet row on the second press. This is usually what you want: it keeps formatting and deletions inside the table.
Whole column or just the data?
Selecting an entire column covers more than a million cells. That is fine for hiding, inserting, deleting or setting a width. For formatting or formulas it is better to select only the data: click the first cell and press Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow. Applying borders or fills to whole columns inflates the file and makes Ctrl+End jump to the bottom of the sheet.
When the shortcuts don't work
- Shift+Spacebar types a space. You are editing a cell. Press Esc or Enter first.
- Ctrl+Spacebar switches the keyboard language or input method. Some Windows language setups reserve it. Change the hot key under Advanced keyboard settings, or click the column letter instead.
- The selection is wider than expected. A merged cell in the column drags its neighbours in.
On a Mac
In Excel for Mac the shortcuts are Control+Spacebar for a column and Shift+Spacebar for a row.