Excel Hide and Unhide – Protect Rows, Columns & Sheets

Use hide and unhide in Microsoft Excel to declutter views, protect formulas, and guide collaborators—especially inside an Excel Dashboard. These quick techniques help you present only what matters while keeping the underlying data intact.

Why hide content in Excel

Reduce noise while editing or presenting.
Protect intermediate calculations from accidental edits.
Keep teammates focused on the right inputs and KPIs.

Hide and unhide rows & columns

Hide

Select the row number(s) or column letter(s).
Right-click → Hide (or Home → Format → Hide & Unhide).

Unhide

Select the adjacent rows/columns around the hidden area.
Right-click → Unhide (or Home → Format → Hide & Unhide).

Tip: Missing labels (e.g., rows “4, 6”) indicate hidden content.

Hide and unhide entire sheets

Hide a sheet

Right-click the sheet tab.
Choose Hide.

Unhide a sheet

Right-click any sheet tab → Unhide….
Select the sheet → OK.

Make a sheet “Very Hidden” (advanced)

Press Alt+F11 to open the VBA editor.
Select the sheet → in Properties, set Visible = xlSheetVeryHidden.
To restore, change to xlSheetVisible.

Pro tips & shortcuts

Ctrl+Shift+9 unhide rows; Ctrl+Shift+0 unhide columns (may require OS permission).
Create a “Contents” sheet with hyperlinks to hidden tabs.
Pair with filters and data validation for clean, guided input.

Where this helps in an Excel Dashboard

Hide raw tables and helper columns while showing only KPI cards and charts. Explore our Excel Dashboard collection, browse ready-made Dashboard Templates, or scale to Power BI Dashboard solutions.

Excel Hide and Unhide – Protect Rows, Columns & Sheets