How to Remove Blanks from List Using Formula in Excel (4 Methods)

While working with a list of any kind i.e, a list of products or a list of employees you might come across a lot of blank cells in it. While such blank cells might be useful at times, mostly these blank cells could create a lot of problems for you making the list unnecessarily long and difficult to read. In this tutorial, I will show you how to remove blanks from the list formula in Excel.

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4 Easy Ways to Remove Blanks from List Using Formula in Excel

Let’s assume a scenario where we have an Excel worksheet that has a list of various computer hardwares and accessories. Problem is that the list has a lot of blank spaces in it.  We will use this list to show you how to remove blanks from the list using formulas in Excel. The image below shows the original list and the list after all the blanks are removed from it.

Method 1: Remove Blanks From Vertical List Using an Array Formula

We can use an array formula to remove the blanks from a vertical list very easily. Let’s see how we can do that.

Step 1:

• First, we will write down the below formula in cell D5.

• Then, upon pressing ENTER, the formula will return the first item of the list.

Step 2:

• Now, we will drag the fill handle of cell D5 to apply the formula to the rest of the cells.

• Finally, we will get the list of all the products without any blank cells.

Read More: How to Set Cell to Blank in Formula in Excel (6 Ways)

Method 2: Perform an Array Formula to Remove Blanks From Horizontal List

Alternatively, we can also another array formula to remove blank cells from a horizontal list. We have to follow the below steps.

Step 1:

• First, we will write down the below formula in cell B8.

• Then, upon pressing ENTER, the formula will return the first item of the list.

Step 2:

• Now, we will drag the fill handle of cell D5 horizontally to apply the formula to the rest of the cells.

• Finally, we will get the list of all the products without any blank cells.

Read More: Find, Count and Apply Formula If a Cell is Not Blank (With Examples)

Similar Readings:

• How to Delete Blank Cells in Excel and Shift Data Up
• Apply Conditional Formatting in Excel If Another Cell Is Blank
• How to Ignore Blank Cells in Range in Excel (8 Ways)
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• How to Calculate in Excel If Cells are Not Blank: 7 Exemplary Formulas

Method 3: Use the Go To Special Option to Remove Blanks From List

The easiest and most efficient way to remove blanks from a list is to use Go To Special menu. To do that, we have to follow the below steps.

Step 1:

• First, go to Home > Editing > Find & Select and click on Go to Special. With the Go to Special feature, we can find and select cells based on what they are containing.

• Alternatively, you can also press the F5 key to open the Go To menu. Then, click on the Special button on the down-left corner of that menu.

Step 2:

• Next, we will select Blanks from the Go To Special.
• Then, we will click OK.

Step 3:

• Now, we will click on the Delete drop-down under the Home Then, we will select Delete Cells from the drop-down menu.

• Then, a window titled Delete will appear. Next, we will select Shift cells up from that window.
• Next, we will click on OK.

• Finally, we will get the list of all the products without any blank cells.

Read More: Fill Blank Cells with Value Above in Excel (4 Methods)

Method 4: Remove Blanks from List Using the COUNTBLANK Function

Another way to remove blanks from the list is to use the COUNTBLANK function and the table filter together. Let’s see how we can do that. 

Step 1:

• First, we will write down the below formula in cell D5.

• Upon pressing ENTER, we will see that the formula returns zero (0) as cell B5 is not empty rather contains the text Keyboard. 

Step 2:

• Then, we will drag the fill handle of cell C5 downward to apply the formula to the rest of the cells.

• Finally, we will see that the formula returns zero (0) for the cells containing text, and one (1) for those that are empty in the Product column. 

Step 3: 

• Now, we will select all the cells in the data range including the column header. 
• Then, we will select Table under the Insert ribbon. 

• Now, a window titled Create Table will appear. We will select the My Table has headers option. 
• Then, we will click on OK. 

• Now, we will see that our data range has been formatted as a table. Notice, there is a Filter icon shown on each of the columns.
• Then, we will select the Filter icon of the Blanks column.
• After that, select only 1.
• Finally, press OK.

Step 4: 

• Finally, we will only see the empty cells. 

• Now, select the entire data range.
• Then, right-click on any cell in the Blanks column to bring up the Context Menu.
• After that, go to Delete >>> Entire Sheet Row.

• Now, we will see that all the blanks have been removed. 
• Next, we will bring back the table by clearing the filter. 
• First, select the filter icon.
• Then, select Clear Filter From “Blanks”.

• Finally, we will now only see the rows that contain text in the Product column. 

• Further, we can remove the blank column to make our dataset smaller. First, we will right-click on any cell in the Blanks column to bring up the Context Menu.
• Then, we will click on Delete>Table Columns. 

• Finally, we will see that we have removed all the blanks from the list. 

Read More: How to Delete Empty Cells in Excel (6 Methods)

Quick Notes

🎯 The two formulas we have used are array formulas. So, you must press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER together to insert any of these formulas in a cell. And it will put two curly braces around the whole formula.

🎯 Also, if you are looking for how to remove blank spaces in Excel, you can read this article. And also read this one to learn how to add blank spaces in Excel.

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned how to remove blanks from the list formula in Excel. I hope from now on you can remove blanks from the list very easily. However, if you have any queries or recommendations about this article, please do leave a comment below. Have a great day!!!

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