Excel Fix: Insert Column Option Greyed out (9 Solutions)

Inserting rows, columns, and cells is very common in Microsoft Excel. But, in various situations, we see that the Insert Column option is greyed out from Excel without any clue. We found 9 different reasons for this problem. We will show how to solve those problems and enable the Insert Column option.

Greyed out Insert Column Option in Excel: 9 Ways to Enable

1. Change Microsoft Excel AppData with Windows Run Feature

We can enable the greyed-out Insert Column by changing Excel’s AppData. We can access the AppData from the Windows Run command. Please follow the below steps for that.

Steps:

• First, close the Excel file.
• Press the Windows key + R to enter the Run window.
• Now, put %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel on the box named Then click OK.

• We enter the file section of Microsoft Excel. Find out the xlb.
• Modify the file extension to .old from the .xlb.

The Insert Column option will appear now.

Read More: Cannot Insert Column in Excel

2. Unprotect a Protected Workbook

When a workbook is protected then most of the features are disabled for the safety of that workbook. The Insert Column option is also greyed out due to this reason. If we need to insert new columns, we have to unprotect the Protected Workbook.

Steps:

• Go to the Review tab in the ribbon.
• Click on the Protect Workbook option.

This workbook is not in protected mode, and the Insert Column option will be enabled now.

Read More: How to Insert a Column to the Left in Excel

3. Unprotect a Protected Worksheet

When you protect an Excel worksheet, the Insert Column is disabled along with many other commands. To re-enable this button, just execute the following steps.

Steps:

• Go to the Review tab of the ribbon.
• Choose the Unprotect Sheet option now.

Insert Column is enabled now.

4. Select Column(s) before Inserting a New Column

When we need to insert new columns, we must select a column and then insert another new column(s). But, if we select a row and want to insert a column, then the Insert Column will be greyed out. Look at the below image. Here, we selected Row 4. Then went to the Insert option. We can see that the Insert Sheet Columns option is greyed out here.

Read More: How to Insert a Column Between Every Other Column in Excel

5. Exit from Cell Editing Mode

If we want to insert a new column, the cursor should not be in Cell Editing mode. If we are in Cell Editing mode, we should escape from the editing mode by pressing the Esc button. Then, the Insert Column option will be enabled.

6. Change Display Options Settings to Enable Insert Columns

We can enable the Insert Column option from the Display Options settings.

Steps:

• Enter the Excel Options from File > Options. Or we can press Alt+F+T.
• Select the Advanced option from the left side.
• Go to Display options for this workbook: section.
• Choose the All option, then click OK.

Read More: Shortcuts to Insert Column in Excel

7. Fix Greyed out Insert Column Option in Shared Workbook

The Insert Column option is disabled in a Shared Workbook. To solve this issue, follow Review > Share Workbook. Then, uncheck the Allow changes by more than one user at the same time, and press OK.

8. Detect and Remove Unnecessary Excel Add-ins That Disable Insert Column Option

We know that Microsoft Excel includes various Add-ins that help you work with your data more effectively. However, some add-ins can cause issues while working in Excel.

To solve this problem, go to File>Options>Add-ins.

Now, remove each Add-in one by one and notice whether the Add-in that is causing the problem is detected or not. After detecting the exact Add-in(s), remove those Add-ins to solve this problem.

Read More: How to Insert Column without Affecting Formulas in Excel

9. Enable Insert Column Option with an Excel VBA Code

We can also apply a VBA code to solve the Insert Column disability problem.

Steps:

• Go to the Sheet Name of the bottom section of any sheet.
• Press the right button of the mouse. Choose the View Code option from the Context Menu.

• The VBA window will appear. Choose the Module option from the Insert tab.

• The VBA command module will appear now. We will write VBA code here.

• Copy and paste the following VBA code on the module.
• Now, run the code by pressing the F5 button.

Public Sub Reset_column()
CommandBars("column").Reset
CommandBars("row").Reset
CommandBars("cell").Reset
End Sub

In this way, we can solve the Insert Column disable problem by using a VBA code.

Download Practice Workbook

Download this practice workbook to exercise while you are reading this article.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the reasons for the Insert Column greyed-out problem in Excel. We showed them the solutions in detail. I hope this will satisfy your needs.

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