Check Out This Easy Way to Find and Remove Blank Rows in Excel
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 7, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® Excel® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
You can quickly find and remove blank rows in an Excel worksheet using Go To Special. You can access the Go To Special dialog box with a keyboard shortcut, use it to find blanks and then you will be able to delete blank rows quickly with a couple of clicks.
Recommended article: 15 Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed Up Formatting
Do you want to learn more about Excel? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Excel courses >
Below is the Go To Special dialog box:
Before you complete the following process, you may want to save a copy of the original file first.
Finding and deleting blank rows
To easily find and delete blank rows in an Excel list or data set:
- Select a column where there are blank cells in the column (we’re assuming here that the rest of the row is blank). If there is sensitive data above or below the list that you don’t want to delete, select the cells in the column from the first cell in the range to the last cell in the range (you could click in the first cell and Shift-click in the last cell).
- Press Ctrl + G to display the Go To dialog box and then click Special to display the Go To Special dialog box. Alternatively, you can click the Home tab in the Ribbon and then select Go To Special from the Find & Select drop-down menu.
- Select Blanks in the Go to Special dialog box and click OK. Excel will select all of the blank cells within the range.
- Right-click one of the selected blank cells and select Delete. A dialog box appears.
- Select Entire Row and click OK to confirm the delete.
You will now be able to sort, filter and create pivot tables with the list.
This article was first published on June 21, 2017 and has been updated for content and clarity.
Subscribe to get more articles like this one
Did you find this article helpful? If you would like to receive new articles, join our email list.
More resources
How to Use Flash Fill in Excel (Beginner’s Guide)
How to Quickly Fill in Missing Values from the Cell Above in Excel
10 Great Excel Navigation Shortcuts
Related courses
Microsoft Excel: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft Excel: Data Analysis with Functions, Dashboards and What-If Analysis Tools
Microsoft Excel: Introduction to Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
Our instructor-led courses are delivered in virtual classroom format or at our downtown Toronto location at 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801 (Toronto Star Building), Toronto, Ontario, Canada (some in-person classroom courses may also be delivered at an alternate downtown Toronto location). Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca if you'd like to arrange custom onsite training or an online course on a date that's convenient for you.
Copyright 2022 Avantix® Learning
You may also like
How to Convert Text to Numbers in Excel (5 Ways)
Here are 5 different ways to quickly convert numbers stored as text to numbers in a Microsoft Excel worksheet. You can use a Smart Tag, Paste Special or …
Use Excel Conditional Formatting to Highlight Dates Before Today (3 Ways)
You can use conditional formatting in Excel to highlight cells containing dates before today or within a date range before the current date. In a worksheet, you can use conditional formatting to highlight selected cells by filling them with a color based on rules or conditions. This type of formatting is helpful if you want to highlight past due dates such as invoices that are 30, 60 or 90 days overdue.
How to Replace Spaces in Excel with Underscores (_), Dashes (-) or Other Values
You can quickly replace blank cells in Excel with zeros, dashes or other number or text values (0, -, N/A, Null or other text). It’s useful to fill blank cells with a number, symbol or value if you want to use the data set as the source for a pivot table or use other data analysis tools.
Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Microsoft Office and related Microsoft applications and logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in Canada, US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the registered owners.
Avantix Learning | 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801 (Toronto Star Building), Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1W7 | info@avantixlearning.ca
