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

This article illustrates 9 possible solutions to the issue of the “Insert Sheet Row” option being greyed out in Excel. The following picture highlights the problem and the solution discussed here. Have a quick look through the article to see how to fix the issue.

Enable a Greyed out Insert Row Option in Excel: 9 Quick Solutions

1. Press Windows Key+R and Change Microsoft Excel AppData

You can fix the greyed-out Insert Row option by changing the AppData for Excel. First, close all the open Excel files to do that. Then press Win + R. Next, enter %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel  in the Open field and, then hit OK.

Now change the .xlb file extension to .old as shown below. After that, you will see that the Insert Row option is working fine.

Read More: Cannot Insert Row in Excel

2. Unprotect a Protected Worksheet

The Insert Row option can become greyed out if the worksheet is protected. Select Review >> Unprotect Sheet to unprotect the worksheet. Hopefully, this will fix the issue.

3. Unprotect a Protected Workbook

You cannot use the Insert Row option in a protected workbook either. Therefore the option becomes greyed out. Select Review >> Protect Workbook to unprotect the workbook as shown below. After that, you might need to enter a password for a password-protected workbook.

4. Unselect Columns to Re-enable Insert Row Option

You can’t use the Insert Row option if one or more columns are selected. Unselect the columns to see if the problem is fixed. In the same way, you can’t use the Insert Column option if one or more rows are selected. Then, unselect the rows first to insert or delete columns.

5. Enable a Greyed out Insert Row Option by Exiting from Cell Editing

The Insert Row option may be greyed out because you are in cell editing mode. First Press Esc to exit from cell editing and then try to use the insert row command to see if the problem is fixed.

6. Change Display Options

Press ALT+F+T to open Excel Options. Then go to the Advanced tab and scroll down to Display options for this workbook. After that, mark the radio button for All for the option For Objects, Show. This will resolve the issue.

Read More: Excel Shortcuts to Insert New Row

7. Fix Disabled Insert Row Option in Shared Workbook

This issue may arise within a shared workbook. To fix it, first select Review >> Share Workbook. Then uncheck Allow changes by more than one user at the same time and, then hit OK.

8. Remove Unnecessary Add-Ins

You need to remove your Excel Add-Ins if any one of them is causing the problem. Go to File >> Options >> Add-Ins. Then remove the Add-Ins one by one to see which of them is causing it. Then add the other Add-Ins again.

9. Fix Greyed out Insert Row Option with Excel VBA

You can reset the commands with excel VBA to solve the problem too. First, press ALT+F11 to open the VBA window. Then select Insert >> Module as shown below. This will create a blank module.

After that, copy the following code.

Public Sub Reset_Menu()
CommandBars("column").Reset
CommandBars("row").Reset
CommandBars("Cell").Reset
End Sub

Now, paste the copied code into the blank module. Then, press F5 to run the code. This should fix the problem after that.

Things to Remember

• You can try deleting the following registry from the registry editor to reset the commands >> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office|16.0\Excel\Options.
• Sometimes restarting your PC or updating your Office automatically fixes the bugs. So, you can try doing that too.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from the download button below.

Conclusion

Now you know how to fix the issue of the greyed-out Insert Row option in Excel. Please let us know if this article has helped you to solve your problem. You can also use the comment section below for further queries or suggestions.

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