Strikethrough is a quick way to show a task is done or a value is no longer valid, without deleting it. Excel doesn't put a strikethrough button on the Home tab, so the keyboard shortcut is by far the fastest method.
Step by step
- Select the cell, range, or specific text inside a cell (double-click the cell or press F2 to edit it first).
- Press Ctrl+5.
- Press Ctrl+5 again to remove the strikethrough.
Tips & troubleshooting
- Use the 5 on the main number row. The number pad's 5 won't work.
- Ctrl+1 opens Format Cells, where the Font tab has a Strikethrough checkbox if you prefer a dialog.
- To strike through a row automatically when a task is done, use Conditional Formatting with a formula and choose strikethrough in the format.
When strikethrough is the right choice
Strikethrough is formatting, nothing more. The value underneath is untouched, so a struck-through number is still added up by SUM, still matched by XLOOKUP and still exported to CSV. That makes it ideal when you want a visible record of what changed: a completed task on a to-do list, an old price next to a new one, or a line in a budget that has been cancelled but should stay on the page for the audit trail.
If the value should stop counting, strikethrough alone is not enough. Either clear the cell, or keep the number and add a status column that your formulas can test.
Other ways to apply strikethrough
The shortcut is fastest, but it helps to know where the setting actually lives.
- Format Cells: press Ctrl+1, open the Font tab and tick Strikethrough under Effects. This is also where you can check whether a cell is struck through when the text is too small to tell.
- Font dialog launcher: on the Home tab, click the small arrow in the bottom corner of the Font group, or press Ctrl+Shift+F. It opens the same Font tab.
- Quick Access Toolbar: go to File, Options, Quick Access Toolbar, choose All Commands, then add Strikethrough. It now has a one-click button, and Alt plus its position number triggers it.
Strike through only part of a cell
You can cross out a few words and leave the rest. Press F2 (or double-click) to edit the cell, hold Shift and use the arrow keys to select the characters, press Ctrl+5, then press Enter.
This only works on text you typed. Numbers, dates and the results of formulas can only be struck through as a whole cell.
Cross tasks off automatically
On a task list you can make Excel apply the strikethrough for you when a status changes. Suppose tasks are in A2:A20 and you type Done in column B when each one is finished.
- Select A2:A20.
- On the Home tab choose Conditional Formatting, then New Rule, then Use a formula to determine which cells to format.
- Enter =$B2="Done" as the formula.
- Click Format, tick Strikethrough on the Font tab, and confirm. Each task is now crossed out the moment you mark it Done.
On a Mac and in Excel for the web
In Excel for Mac the shortcut is Cmd+Shift+X. In Excel for the web Ctrl+5 works as it does on the desktop, and there is also a Strikethrough button in the font group on the Home tab.