Note: Microsoft Excel has the following column and row limits: 16,384 columns wide by 1,048,576 rows tall.
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I’ve talked before about using the Freeze Panes feature to keep rows in place at the top of an Excel worksheet (or column in place at the left side) so you can still see your headings as you scroll through a worksheet. And I’ve also covered how Rows To Repeat At Top brings that same idea to printing. Now let’s look at another similar feature. Split lets you divide an Excel worksheet into two or four windows that can scroll semi-independently so you can see different parts of the worksheet at the same time.
The Split button is found on the View tab of the ribbon.
To split your screen vertically, select a cell in the top row and click the Split button. A divider will appear which you can drag left or right to adjust the size of the two panes. Scroll from side to side in one pane and the other won’t move. Scroll vertically in either pane and the other will scroll with it.
To split your screen horizontally, select a cell in the first column and click the Split button. Again, the divider can be dragged to adjust the size of the window panes. Now, vertical scrolling is independent and horizontal scrolling is synchronized.
If your cursor is anywhere other than the first column or first row when you click the Split button your screen will be split both ways. You can drag either of the dividers to adjust the size of the 4 panes, or click at the intersection of the two lines to adjust both at once.
To remove the split, either click the Split button again or drag the divider all the way to the edge of the window.
In this article, you'll learn how to display certain rows and/or columns in separate panes by splitting the worksheet into two or four parts.
When working with large datasets, it can be helpful to see a few areas of the same worksheet at a time to compare different subsets of data. This can be done by using Excel's Split Screen feature.
How to split screen in Excel
Splitting is a one-click operation in Excel. To split up a worksheet into two or four parts, this is what you need to do:
- Select the row/column/cell before which you want to place the split.
- On the View tab, in the Windows group, click the Split button.
Done!
Depending on your selection, the worksheet window can be divided horizontally, vertically or both, so you have two or four separate sections with their own scrollbars. Let's see how each scenario works.
Split worksheet vertically on columns
To separate two areas of the spreadsheet vertically, select the column to the right of the column where you wish the split to appear and click the Split button.
In the dataset below, suppose you want to display the item details (columns A through C) and sales numbers (columns D through H) in separate panes. To have it done, select column D on the left of which the split should be made:
As the result, the worksheet is divided into two vertical panes, each having its own scrollbar.
Now that the first three columns are locked by the split, you can select any cell in the right-hand pane and scroll to the right. This will hide columns D through F from view, focusing your attention on the more important column G:
Split worksheet horizontally on rows
To separate your Excel window horizontally, select the row below the row where you want the split to occur.
Let's say you aim to compare data for East and West regions. As the West data begin in row 10, we have it selected:
The window gets divided into two panes, one above the other. And now, you can bring any part of each pane to focus by using two vertical scrollbars.
Split worksheet into four parts
To view four different sections of the same worksheet simultaneously, split your screen both vertically and horizontally. For this, select the cell above and to the left of which the split should appear, and then use the Split command.
In the image below, cell G10 is selected, so the screen is separated into the following parts:
Working with split bars
By default, the split always occurs above and to the left of the active cell.
If cell A1 is selected, the worksheet will be divided into four equal parts.
If a wrong cell was accidentally selected, you can adjust the panes by dragging the split bar to the desired position using the mouse.
How to remove split
To undo the worksheet splitting, just click the Split button again. Another easy way is to double click the split bar.
How to split screen between two worksheets
The Excel Split feature only works within a single spreadsheet. To view two tabs in the same workbook at a time, you need to open another window of the same workbook as explained in View two Excel sheets side by side.
That's how the Excel Split Screen feature works. Hope you find our tips helpful. If there's something else you'd like us to share next time, please let us know in comments. I thank you for reading and look forward to seeing you on our blog next week!