Removing the Drop-Down Arrow in Excel: 6 Methods

Method 1 – Use the Filter Feature

Steps:

• Select the range of cells for which you want to remove the arrow, e.g. columns B through E.
• Click Data → Filter.

And with that, it’s gone.

Method 2 – Apply the Keyboard Shortcut

Steps:

• Select the range of cells for which you want to remove the arrow, e.g. columns B through E.
• Press ALT+A+T, then Enter.

And with that, it’s gone.

Read More: How to Remove Value in Excel

Method 3 – Use the Data Validation Feature

This is the most used method for removing the drop-down arrow.

Steps:

• Select the range of cells for which you want to remove the arrow, e.g. column C.

• Click Data → Data Validation.

• Click OK.

• When the Data Validation dialog box appears, click Clear All, then OK.

• And with that, it’s gone.

Method 4 – Use the ‘Go To Special’ Option

Steps:

• Press Ctrl+G.
• When the Go To dialog box appears, click Special.

• Click Data Validation, then OK.

• Click Data Validation.

• Click OK.

• When the Data Validation dialog box reappears, click Clear All, then OK.

And with that, it’s gone.

Read More: How to Remove Outliers in Excel

Method 5 – Use the ‘Paste Special’ Command

Steps:

• Select an empty cell and press Ctrl+C.

• Select the range of cells containing data validation, i.e. columns B through D.

• Press Ctrl+Alt+V.
• When the Paste Special dialog box appears, click Validation, then OK.

And with that, it’s gone.

Method 6 – Use VBA Codes

Steps:

• Press ALT+F11 OR go to Developer → Visual Basic  → Visual Basic Editor → Insert → Module.

• Enter the following code:

Sub Remove_Drop_Down_Arrow()
Range("B5:D10").Validation.Delete
End Sub

• Close the Visual Basic window and press ALT+F8.
• When the Macro dialog box opens, click Macro Name → Remove_Drop_Down_Arrow then Run.

And with that, it’s gone.

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