A.N.M. Mohaimen Shanto
While working with Microsoft Excel, you will face a lot of situations where you need to delete rows. Now, some people love to work with the mouse and the Excel interface. Also, some people love to work with a keyboard shortcut. It makes their work process faster and saves a lot of time. In this tutorial, you will learn to delete rows with the keyboard shortcut in Excel. This tutorial will be resourceful with suitable examples and proper descriptions.
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2 Ways to Delete Multiple Rows with Excel Shortcut
In the following section, we will show you to delete multiple rows with the Excel shortcut. Remember, you can also delete single with this. But, the primary difference with that is selecting the rows. It may be sequential or non-sequential. Also, we are using this dataset to perform this:
1. Delete Sequential Rows in Excel with Keyboard Shortcut
Now, if you want to select multiple rows sequentially and delete them, use this method. Here, our keyboard shortcut is similar to the previous methods.
1. SHIFT+SPACE
2. SPACE+DOWN ARROW
3. CTR+ – (Minus Sign)
Now, we want to delete the last three rows from the dataset. These simple steps will help you to perform this.
📌 Steps
- First, select any cell from the dataset.
- Then, press SHIFT+SPACE After that, it will select the entire row.
- Next, press SHIFT+DOWN ARROW to select multiple rows. Press it all together. Press SHIFT and then DOWN ARROW twice to select the next two rows.
- Now, press CTRL+ – (Minus Sign).
As you can see, we have successfully deleted multiple rows with a simple Excel shortcut.
Read More: How to Delete Specific Rows in Excel (8 Quick Ways)
2. Delete Non-sequential Rows in Excel with Keyboard Shortcut
Similar to the previous method, you can also delete non-sequential rows with an Excel shortcut. You can select numerous rows from the dataset and delete them. Mainly, you have to choose multiple cells from the dataset to delete the entire rows.
Here, we want to delete rows 5,7, and 9 using the Excel keyboard shortcut.
📌 Steps
- First, press CTRL and select any cells from rows 5,7, and 9.
- Then, press CTRL+ – (minus sign).
- After that, select Entire row.
- Next, click on OK.
As you can see, we are successful to delete multiple rows with the help of an Excel shortcut.
Related Content: How to Delete Row Using VBA (14 Ways)
3 Ways to Delete a Single Row in Excel Using the Keyboard Shortcut
In this section, we will provide you with three ways with the keyboard shortcut to delete rows in Excel. These sections will focus on a single row. You can use these techniques to delete a row with the shortcut. We recommend you learn and implement all these strategies too into your worksheets. It will surely develop your Excel knowledge.
To demonstrate this tutorial, we are going to use this dataset:
Here, our dataset shows some players’ statistics. And if you look closely, there is a blank cell in the dataset. So, our goal is to delete the entire row that contains the blank cell with the Excel shortcut. Let’s get into it.
1. Select and Delete a Row Using Excel Shortcut with Hotkeys (CTRL + -)
The Excel shortcut to delete row(s) is:
Now, we use this shortcut more often. It is the go-to method for all Excel users. Just follow these simple steps to delete rows in Excel.
📌 Steps
- First, select the empty cell.
- Then, press Ctrl + – (minus sign) together. After that, it will show a dialog box.
- Next, select the Entire row.
- Then, click on OK.
As you can see, we are successful to delete a row with the Excel shortcut. Now, you can delete multiple rows with this technique.
Related Content: How to Delete Selected Rows in Excel(8 Approaches)
2. Delete Entire Row with Excel Shortcut and Other Hotkeys
To delete an entire row, you can use this keyboard shortcut:
1. SHIFT+SPACE
2. CTRL+- (Minus Sign)
Now, this is a two-step process. You can also use this method to delete entire rows with an Excel keyboard shortcut. If you want to select an entire row quickly, definitely use this method.
📌 Steps
- First, select the empty cell.
- Then, press SHIFT+SPACE on your keyboard. After that, it will select the entire row.
- Then, press CTRL+ – (minus sign)
In the end, this Excel shortcut will delete entire rows easily. Try this method on your worksheet to delete a whole row.
Read More: How to Delete All Rows Below a Certain Row in Excel (6 Ways)
Similar Readings:
- Excel Shortcut to Delete Rows (With Bonus Techniques)
- How to Delete Hidden Rows in Excel (3 Methods)
- Macro to Delete Row in Excel If Cell is Blank
- How to Remove Empty Rows in Excel (11 Methods)
3. Excel Shortcut to Delete Rows with Alt + H + D + R
The next keyboard shortcut of Excel we are using:
Now, you won’t see people using this Excel shortcut. In fact, I also don’t use this. But, in my opinion, you should also learn this to expand your knowledge. Sometimes, knowing more methods makes you knowledgeable.
📌 Steps
- First, select any cell from your worksheet. Here, we are selecting the empty cell.
- Then, press Alt+H+D+R. You don’t have to press these altogether. Just press one by one. It will basically take you to the ribbon.
- After you have pressed R, it will delete the row.
In the end, you can see we are successful to delete rows with this Excel shortcut quite easily.
Read More: How to Delete Rows in Excel That Go on Forever (4 Easy Ways)
2 Bonus Techniques to Delete Rows in Excel
Though our tutorial is all about using the Excel shortcut, I think this method is for beginners. If you are not a beginner, you can skip this.
1. Delete Rows in MS Excel with the PC Mouse
📌 Steps
- First, select any cells from the dataset.
- Then, right-click on the mouse. Now, select Delete.
- Now, select the Entire row.
- After that, click on OK.
As you can see, we are successful to delete rows using the Excel shortcut.
Related Content: VBA Macro to Delete Row if Cell Contains Value in Excel (2 Methods)
2. Delete Rows Using the Ribbon
Now, you can use Excel’s ribbon to delete rows. If you love to work with the interface, you can definitely use this method.
📌 Steps
- First, select any cells from the dataset.
- Then, from the Home tab, go to the Cells.
- Then, select Delete > Delete Sheet Rows.
In the end, we deleted rows with Microsoft Excel’s built-in ribbon.
 Related Content: How to Delete Every nth Row in Excel (Easiest 6 Ways)
💬 Things to Remember
✎ If you accidentally delete rows, just press CTRL+Z to bring those back.
✎ Always select the Entire row option. Otherwise, it will create unnecessary problems.
✎ If your dataset is large, you can also delete numerous rows with VBA codes to save your time.
Conclusion
To conclude, I hope this tutorial has provided you with a piece of useful knowledge to delete rows with the keyboard shortcut in Excel. We recommend you learn and apply all these instructions to your dataset. Download the practice workbook and try these yourself. Also, feel free to give feedback in the comment section. Your valuable feedback keeps us motivated to create tutorials like this.
Don’t forget to check our website Exceldemy.com for various Excel-related problems and solutions.
Keep learning new methods and keep growing!
