Insert or delete rows and columns
Insert and delete rows and columns to organize your worksheet better.
Note: Microsoft Excel has the following column and row limits: 16,384 columns wide by 1,048,576 rows tall.
Insert or delete a column
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Select any cell within the column, then go to Home > Insert > Insert Sheet Columns or Delete Sheet Columns.
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Alternatively, right-click the top of the column, and then select Insert or Delete.
Insert or delete a row
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Select any cell within the row, then go to Home > Insert > Insert Sheet Rows or Delete Sheet Rows.
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Alternatively, right-click the row number, and then select Insert or Delete.
Formatting options
When you select a row or column that has formatting applied, that formatting will be transferred to a new row or column that you insert. If you don’t want the formatting to be applied, you can select the Insert Options button after you insert, and choose from one of the options as follows:
If the Insert Options button isn’t visible, then go to File > Options > Advanced > in the Cut, copy and paste group, check the Show Insert Options buttons option.
Insert rows
To insert a single row: Right-click the whole row above which you want to insert the new row, and then select Insert Rows.
To insert multiple rows: Select the same number of rows above which you want to add new ones. Right-click the selection, and then select Insert Rows.
Insert columns
To insert a single column: Right-click the whole column to the right of where you want to add the new column, and then select Insert Columns.
To insert multiple columns: Select the same number of columns to the right of where you want to add new ones. Right-click the selection, and then select Insert Columns.
Delete cells, rows, or columns
If you don’t need any of the existing cells, rows or columns, here’s how to delete them:
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Select the cells, rows, or columns that you want to delete.
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Right-click, and then select the appropriate delete option, for example, Delete Cells & Shift Up, Delete Cells & Shift Left, Delete Rows, or Delete Columns.
When you delete rows or columns, other rows or columns automatically shift up or to the left.
Tip: If you change your mind right after you deleted a cell, row, or column, just press Ctrl+Z to restore it.
Insert cells
To insert a single cell:
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Right-click the cell above which you want to insert a new cell.
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Select Insert, and then select Cells & Shift Down.
To insert multiple cells:
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Select the same number of cells above which you want to add the new ones.
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Right-click the selection, and then select Insert > Cells & Shift Down.
Need more help?
You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.
See Also
Basic tasks in Excel
Overview of formulas in Excel
Need more help?
Resize a table by adding or removing rows and columns
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After you create an Excel table in your worksheet, you can easily add or remove table rows and columns.
You can use the Resize command in Excel to add rows and columns to a table:
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Click anywhere in the table, and the Table Tools option appears.
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Click Design > Resize Table.
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Select the entire range of cells you want your table to include, starting with the upper-leftmost cell.
In the example shown below, the original table covers the range A1:C5. After resizing to add two columns and three rows, the table will cover the range A1:E8.
Tip: You can also click Collapse Dialog
to temporarily hide the Resize Table dialog box, select the range on the worksheet, and then click Expand dialog . -
When you’ve selected the range you want for your table, press OK.
to temporarily hide the Resize Table dialog box, select the range on the worksheet, and then click Expand dialog 
.Add a row or column to a table by typing in a cell just below the last row or to the right of the last column, by pasting data into a cell, or by inserting rows or columns between existing rows or columns.
Start typing
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To add a row at the bottom of the table, start typing in a cell below the last table row. The table expands to include the new row. To add a column to the right of the table, start typing in a cell next to the last table column.
In the example shown below for a row, typing a value in cell A4 expands the table to include that cell in the table along with the adjacent cell in column B.
In the example shown below for a column, typing a value in cell C2 expands the table to include column C, naming the table column Qtr 3 because Excel sensed a naming pattern from Qtr 1 and Qtr 2.
Paste data
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To add a row by pasting, paste your data in the leftmost cell below the last table row. To add a column by pasting, paste your data to the right of the table’s rightmost column.
If the data you paste in a new row has as many or fewer columns than the table, the table expands to include all the cells in the range you pasted. If the data you paste has more columns than the table, the extra columns don’t become part of the table—you need to use the Resize command to expand the table to include them.
In the example shown below for rows, pasting the values from A10:B12 in the first row below the table (row 5) expands the table to include the pasted data.
In the example shown below for columns, pasting the values from C7:C9 in the first column to right of the table (column C) expands the table to include the pasted data, adding a heading, Qtr 3.
Use Insert to add a row
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To insert a row, pick a cell or row that’s not the header row, and right-click. To insert a column, pick any cell in the table and right-click.
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Point to Insert, and pick Table Rows Above to insert a new row, or Table Columns to the Left to insert a new column.
If you’re in the last row, you can pick Table Rows Above or Table Rows Below.
In the example shown below for rows, a row will be inserted above row 3.
For columns, if you have a cell selected in the table’s rightmost column, you can choose between inserting Table Columns to the Left or Table Columns to the Right.
In the example shown below for columns, a column will be inserted to the left of column 1.
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Select one or more table rows or table columns that you want to delete.
You can also just select one or more cells in the table rows or table columns that you want to delete.
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On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click the arrow next to Delete, and then click Delete Table Rows or Delete Table Columns.
You can also right-click one or more rows or columns, point to Delete on the shortcut menu, and then click Table Columns or Table Rows. Or you can right-click one or more cells in a table row or table column, point to Delete, and then click Table Rows or Table Columns.
Just as you can remove duplicates from any selected data in Excel, you can easily remove duplicates from a table.
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Click anywhere in the table.
This displays the Table Tools, adding the Design tab.
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On the Design tab, in the Tools group, click Remove Duplicates.
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In the Remove Duplicates dialog box, under Columns, select the columns that contain duplicates that you want to remove.
You can also click Unselect All and then select the columns that you want or click Select All to select all of the columns.
Note: Duplicates that you remove are deleted from the worksheet. If you inadvertently delete data that you meant to keep, you can use Ctrl+Z or click Undo 
on the Quick Access Toolbar to restore the deleted data. You may also want to use conditional formats to highlight duplicate values before you remove them. For more information, see Add, change, or clear conditional formats.
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Make sure that the active cell is in a table column.
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Click the arrow
in the column header. -
To filter for blanks, in the AutoFilter menu at the top of the list of values, clear (Select All), and then at the bottom of the list of values, select (Blanks).
Note: The (Blanks) check box is available only if the range of cells or table column contains at least one blank cell.
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Select the blank rows in the table, and then press CTRL+- (hyphen).
in the column header.You can use a similar procedure for filtering and removing blank worksheet rows. For more information about how to filter for blank rows in a worksheet, see Filter data in a range or table.
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Select the table, then select Table Design > Resize Table.
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Adjust the range of cells the table contains as needed, then select OK.
Important: Table headers can’t move to a different row, and the new range must overlap the original range.
Need more help?
You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.
See Also
How can I merge two or more tables?
Create an Excel table in a worksheet
Use structured references in Excel table formulas
Format an Excel table
Need more help?
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Excel Add Column (Table of Contents)
- Add Column in Excel
- How to Add Column in Excel?
- How to Modify a Column Width?
Add Column in Excel
Excel allows a user to add columns, whether left or right, of the column in the worksheet, which is called Add Column in Excel. Of course, there is more than one way to accomplish a task, as in all Microsoft programs. These instructions cover how rows and columns can be added and modified in an Excel worksheet using a keyboard shortcut and using the context menu with the right-click.
How to Add Column in Excel?
Adding a column in Excel is very easy and convenient whenever we want to add data to the table. There are different Methods to Insert or add Column which is as follows:
- Manually we can do this by just right-clicking on the selected column> then click on the insert button.
- Use Shift + Ctrl + + shortcut to add a new column in the Excel.
- Home tab >> click on Insert >> Select Insert Sheet Columns.
- We can add N number of columns in the Excel sheet; a user needs to select that many columns which number of columns he wants to insert.
Let’s understand How to Add Column in Excel with a few examples.
Example #1
A user has a standalone book data of sales, income, PBDIT, and Profit details of each quarter of Maruti Suzuki India Pvt Ltd in sheet1.
You can download this Add a Column Excel Template here – Add a Column Excel Template
Step 1: Select the column where a user wants to add the column in the excel worksheet (The new column will be inserted to the left of the selected column, so select accordingly)
Step 2: A user has selected the D column where he wants to insert the new column.
Step 3: Now Right-click and select Insert button or use shortcut Shift + Ctrl + +
Or
As we can see, as it was required to insert a new column between C and D column, in the above example, we have added a new column. So, as a result, it will move the D column data to the next column, which is E, and it will take the place of D.
Example #2
Let’s take the same data to analyze this example. A user wants to insert three columns left of the B column.
Step 1: Select B, C, and D columns where a user wants to insert new 3 columns in the worksheet (The new column is inserted to the left of the selected column, so select accordingly)
Step 2: A user has selected the B, C, and D columns where he wants to insert a new column
Step 3: Now Right-click and select Insert button or use shortcut Shift + Ctrl + +
Or
As we can see, as it was required to insert a new column left of the B, C, and D column, we added a new column in the above example. As a result, it will move B, C, and D column data to the next column, which are E, F, and G; it will take the place of the B, C, and D column.
Example #3
Step 1: Go to Worksheet >> Select the column’s heading where a user wants to insert a new column.
Step 2: Click on the Insert button.
Step 3: One drop-down will be open; click on the Insert Sheet Columns.
As the user wants to use the Insert toolbar to insert a new column, as in the above example, it added.
Example #4
The user can insert a new column in any version of Excel; in the above examples, we can see that we had selected one or more columns in the worksheet then >Right click on the selected column> then clicked on the Insert button.
To add a new column in the excel worksheet.
Click in a cell to the left or right of where you want to add a column. If the user wants to add a column to the left of the cell, then follow the below process:
- Click on Table Columns to the Left from the Insert option.
And if a user wants to insert the column to the right of the cell, then follow the below process:
- Click on Table Columns to the Right from the Insert option.
How to Modify a Column Width?
A user can modify the width of any column. Let’s take an example as some of the content in column A cannot be displayed. We can make all this content visible by changing the width of column A.
Step 1: Position the mouse over the column line in the column heading to the Black Cross. (As shown below)
Step 2: Click, hold and drag the mouse to increase or decrease the column width.
Step 3: Release the mouse. The column width will be changed.
A user can auto fit the width of the column. The AutoFit feature will allow you to set a column’s width to fit its content automatically.
Step1: Position the mouse over the column line in the column heading to the Black Cross.
Step2: Double-click the mouse. The column width will be changed automatically to fit the content.
Things to Remember About Add a Column in Excel
- The user needs to select that column where the user wants to insert the new column.
- By default, every row and column have the same height and width, but a user can modify the width of the column and the height of the row.
- The user can insert multiple columns at a time.
- You can also AutoFit the width for several columns at the same time. Simply select the columns you want to AutoFit, and then select the AutoFit Column Width command from the Format drop-down menu on the Home. This method can also be used for row height.
- All the rules will also be applied for rows, as applied to column insertion.
- Excel allows the user to wrap text and merging cells.
- For deleting also, we can go to Home Tab >> Delete >> Delete Sheet Columns; either we can select the column which we want to delete or >> Right Click >> click on Delete.
- After adding the insert column, all the data will be shifted to the right side after that column.
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to add a column in excel. Here we have discussed How to Add a column in excel by using different methods and How to modify a column in Excel along with practical examples and a downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –
- COLUMNS Formula in Excel
- Switching Columns in Excel
- Excel COLUMN to Number
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This tutorial demonstrates how to extend a table by adding a column in Excel.
When working with tables in Excel, you can resize them by using Resize Table in the Table Design tab or by simply inserting a column.
Add Column in Table Design
Say you have the data table shown below with columns for SKU, Product, Month, and Sales Amount.
If you want to add Price and Total Sales to the table, you’ll need to add two columns to the right.
- First, select the table by clicking on any cell in it. Then, in the Ribbon, go to the Table Design tab. In the Properties group, click Resize Table.
- In the pop-up screen, change the range for the table and click OK.
Since you want to add two more columns to the right, expand the range for Columns F and G, and the new range is B2:G16. As you can see, when you enter a new range, the dashed line shows the table size.
As a result, the table has two new columns (F and G) named Column1 and Column2.
- Finally, rename the columns. To rename Column1, enter Price in cell F2; and to rename Column2, enter Total Sales in G2.
Now you’ve resized the table and added the columns Price and Total Sales.
Insert Column
Another way to extend a table is to simply insert a new column.
- Right-click the Sales Amount column, then go to Insert, and click on Table Column to the Right.
As a result, a new column (named Column1) is inserted to the right of the selected column (Sales Amount).
- Then add one more column to the right in the same way.
- If you rename these two columns Price and Total Sales, you arrive at the same result as with Resize Table.
Home / Excel Basics / How to Add a Column in Excel
While working in Excel, adding, or removing the column(s) is a common task, and there are multiple ways to add or insert the columns in the Excel sheets.
One can choose any of the ways to add or insert the columns based on his/her preference.
Steps to Insert a Single Column
- First, right-click on any cell in the column.
- After that, you will get a pop-up with multiple options.
- Now, click on the “Insert” option.
- After that, right-click and you will get a pop-up with multiple options.
- Now, select the “Entire column” option and click ok.
- At this point, the column has been inserted to the left of your selected cell.
Tip: you can select the whole single or multiple columns by selecting the column header letters and right-click, then select “Insert” from the pop-up option. The number of inserted columns always depends on how many columns you have selected.
You can also insert the column from the “Home” Tab Ribbon.
- First, make sure that you are on the “Home Tab” and then click on any cell in the column.
- Here, you will find the “Insert” icon within the “cells” group on the Ribbon.
- Now, click on the “Insert” icon and select “Insert Sheet Column” from the listed drop-down menu.
- At this point, the column has been inserted to the left of your selected column cell.
Add Multiple Columns
- To add multiple columns, first, you need to select multiple cells instead of a single cell.
- After that, right-click and you will get a pop-up with multiple options.
- Now, click on the “Insert” option.
- Once you click on the “Insert” option, you will again get a pop-up option.
- Now, select the “Entire column” option and click ok.
- At this point, three columns have been inserted to the left of your selected cells as you had selected three cells.
- To add the multiple “non-adjacent” columns, First, you need to select the cells one by one by holding the CTRL key from the keyboard.
- Once you select the cells, release the CTRL key
- After that, right-click and click on the “Insert” option from the pop-up options.
- Now, select the “Entire column” option and click ok.
- At this point, “non-adjacent” columns have been inserted to the left of your selected cells.
Insert a Column in Excel Table
When you convert your data set into a table range, the insert column method losses some of its functionality.
For example, you cannot insert non-adjacent columns in one go as you do in a normal data set by selecting the non-adjacent columns to insert columns to the left of them.
In table range, if you want to insert multiple non-adjacent columns, you need to do it one by one.
Add a Column using a Keyword Shortcut
My favorite shortcut method to insert the column(s) is by selecting the whole column with a shortcut key to the left of which you want to insert the column.
Tip: You can press + (Plus Sign) multiple times to insert multiple columns while holding the SHIFT + Control.