Use a Few Tricks to Delete 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 delete blank rows in a worksheet using a few Excel tricks. Blank rows in Microsoft Excel lists cause problems if you’re trying to manipulate a list of data using data tools such as sorting, filtering and pivot tables. It can be a time consuming task if you find blank rows one by one and delete them manually. Instead, you can use Go To Special dialog box (which we like to use quite a bit in Excel) to find blanks and then you will be able to delete them with a few clicks.
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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.
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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
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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)
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