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

When we work in a group and share any Excel files, we often need to hide and unhide columns in Excel that demand clarity in information. There are several methods to do this. In this article, we will learn how to hide and unhide columns in Excel with 7 quick methods.

How to Hide and Unhide Columns in Excel: 7 Quick Methods

To illustrate the methods, we have prepared a dataset. It shows the information on the target, sales, and profit of a certain number of products within the first half of a year in a company.

Now, we will try to use these 7 methods below to hide and unhide columns in this worksheet.

1. Use Context Menu to Hide and Unhide Columns

This first method will teach you to use the Context Menu to hide and unhide columns in Excel. Follow the steps below:

First, select the column that you want to hide. Here, we have selected column D.
Otherwise, you can also choose multiple columns as well.

Then, right-click on it and select Hide from the Context Menu.

Therefore, you will not be able to see column D anymore in this worksheet.
You will also notice a double line on the Headings Bar meaning that there is a hidden column.

Now, to unhide column D, select columns C and E as they are the adjacent columns of it.

Next, right-click on it and select Unhide from its Context Menu.

Otherwise, drag the cursor icon to the right side like the image below to make the hidden column visible.

2. Hide and Unhide Columns with Format Tool in Excel

In this second method, we will learn to hide and unhide columns with the Format tool in Excel. Let’s see how it works.

In the beginning, select the column you need to hide. Here we selected column E.
In case of multiple columns, press the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select as many columns as you need to hide.

Then, go to the Home tab and click on Format under the Cells group.

Following, choose the Hide & Unhide option from the Visibility section of the Format drop-down.
Here, select Hide Columns.

Therefore, you will see that column E is not showing.
The hidden column is also indicated by the double lines in the Headings bar.

To unhide the column, select adjacent columns C and E.

Now, again go to the drop-down section of the Format tool as described above.
From there, select Unhide Columns to make the hidden column visible.

Read More: Hide Columns with No Data in Excel

3. Apply Group Feature to Hide and Unhide Columns

This is an interesting method to hide and unhide columns in Excel. The Group feature helps to combine several columns into a single group. Therefore, you can operate the columns at once and hide or unhide them whenever you need. Following is the process to apply the Group feature:

First, select columns C and D.

Following, go to the Data tab and select Group under the Outline section.

After this, select Group from the drop-down section.

Next, you can see the Group feature is activated by grouping columns C and D.
Here, click on the Minus (–) icon to hide the columns.

To unhide the grouped columns, click on the Plus (+) icon to return to its previous state.

The hide and unhide options can also be accessed with the toggle view.
Here, click 1 to hide and 2 to unhide the columns.

If you need to turn off this feature, go to the Home tab and select Ungroup under the Outline section.

Next, click on Ungroup to eliminate this feature.

Note: You can also use the Auto Outline tool in the Group feature if your dataset has the SUM function or the SUBTOTAL function.

4. Insert Keyboard Shortcuts to Hide and Unhide Columns in Excel

If you want to quickly hide and unhide columns in Excel, then the Keyboard Shortcuts are beneficial for you. Let’s see these simple processes:

Initially, select any cell or adjacent two or more cells in your dataset.
These selected cells will allow us to hide the columns that the cells are in.
Here, we selected cell E7.

Then, press the keys Ctrl + 0 on your keyboard.
That’s it, you can see column E is hidden now.

To unhide it, press the Alt key and then press H + O + U + L one at a time on your keyboard.
Finally, it will unhide column E like the image below:

5. Change Column Width to Hide and Unhide Columns

In this method, we will discuss how to hide and unhide columns by changing the column width. Let’s see how it works.

Firstly, select column C or more than two columns if you want.

Secondly, right-click and select Column Width.

Thirdly, type 0 as the Column Width in the new window.
Then, press OK.

That’s it, the column is now hidden.

To unhide it, select any cell and type the cell reference of the hidden column in the Name box.
Here, as column C is hidden we will type C1 for example.
Then, you will see a cursor icon over the hidden column.

Now, go to the Home tab and click on Format under the Cells group.

Next, select Column Width from the drop-down section.

Then, type any numeric value to determine the hidden column width and press OK.

Finally, it will unhide column C.

6. Hide and Unhide Columns with Excel VBA

Another way to hide and unhide columns is with Excel VBA Macro. To perform this, see the steps below:

In the beginning, go to the Developer tab and select Visual Basic under the Codes group.

Then, in the new Visual Basic window, select Module from the Insert section.

Now, insert this code on the blank page.

Sub HideColumns()

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

End Sub

After this, click on the Run Sub button or press F5 on your keyboard.

Next, click on Run in the Macros window.

Finally, you can see column D is hidden in the worksheet.

To unhide it, create a new Visual Basic page just like above.
Now, insert this code on the blank page.

Sub UnhideColumns()

    Cells.EntireColumn.Hidden = False

End Sub

Following, Run this code with a similar procedure.
That’s it, hidden column D is back in the worksheet.

Note: To hide more than one column, use this code. Here the column range is variable according to the dataset. For example, we have taken here column range A:C.

Sub HideMultipleColumns()

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

End Sub

7. Use Go To Feature to Hide and Unhide Columns

In this last method, we will use the Go To feature in Excel to hide and unhide columns. Let’s see the process here:

First, select column B and right-click on it.
Next, click on Hide.

You can see that column B is hidden now.

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

Now, select Go To from the drop-down section.

Following, insert the Reference as B1 in the Go To window as our hidden column is B.
Then, press OK.

Note: In the case of more than one column, type Reference as a range of columns. For example, type B:C as the reference.

It will still not show the hidden column.
In this case, go to the Home tab and select Format under the Cells group.

Here, in the drop-down section, select Hide & Unhide and click on Unhide Columns.

Finally, 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?

If you are working on multiple worksheets, then you may need to find the number of hidden columns in that specific file. Checking all the worksheets one by one is a long-term process. For this reason, here is a quick solution to check the number of hidden columns in Excel. We are using the same dataset as above. Just follow these simple steps:

First, go to the File tab on the Excel ribbon.

Then, go to Info and click on Check for Issues.
Next, select Inspect Document from the drop-down section.

A dialogue box will appear asking whether to save the file or not according to the current status.
Choose whichever option you prefer.

Now, in the new Document Inspector window, make sure Hidden Rows and Columns are marked.
Therefore, click on Inspect.

Finally, you will find the result of hidden columns in this worksheet.

Download Workbook

Get the practice file here and practice it by yourself.

Hide and Unhide Columns.xlsm

Conclusion

Hope this was an efficient article for you on how to hide and unhide columns in Excel with 7 quick methods. Get the sample file and try any of the methods. Let us know your suggestions in the comment box.

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