How to Add or Remove Columns in Excel

When working on an Excel spreadsheet, you will eventually run into situations where you may need to add or remove columns. In Excel, the process of adding or removing columns is straightforward and intuitive.

I will be using the Office 365 version of Excel (build 2203) for this guide. However, the instructions will be the same for other versions.

How to Add Columns

First, let’s look at our sample spreadsheet to which we will be adding columns.

1. We have a table consisting of five columns. We want to add another column to this table for additional data.

   

2. The horizontal bar shows the columns arranged in alphabetical order. Right-click on the column where you wish to add a new column and select Insert.

   

3. Your new column will be added to the left of the right-clicked column.

   

How to Add Multiple Columns

If you want to add more than a single column to your table in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Select multiple columns from the horizontal bar by holding your left mouse button and highlighting the number of columns you wish to add. Once you have highlighted the columns, right-click and select Insert.

   

2. The new columns are added to the left.

   

How to Delete Columns

Deleting columns from Excel is similar to adding them.

1. Highlight the columns you wish to delete, right-click and select Delete.

   

   2. The highlighted columns are deleted, and the remaining columns shift left to fill the space.

   

How to Delete Separated Columns

You may end up in a situation where you need to delete multiple columns separated from each other. Here’s how you can achieve this in one step.

1. Hold CTRL (Command on Mac) on your keyboard and left-click the column you want to delete. Then right-click and select Delete.

   

   

2. Columns shift to fill the deleted space.