How to delete blank rows in Excel shortcut

Release Jan 24, 2022Update Aug 24, 2022
Written in Excel for Microsoft 365 version 2202

It is time consuming to manually search for blank rows in a huge amount of data. Excel provides a shortcut for deleting blank rows. There is an uncomplicated way to delete a single row, and a shortcut to delete a blank row within a range. The Delete blank rows in range method is useful when you want to delete blank rows from a large data set all at once.

Delete row shortcut

Windows
Ctrl + – (minus)

Mac
command + – (minus) or control + – (minus)

Delete single row

This is a way to delete a single row using the shortcut keys.

Total Time: 1 minute

Select a cell

Select the cell in the row you want to delete.

Select a row

Press Shift + Space to select the entire row.

Deleted the row

Press Ctrl + - (minus). The row has been deleted.

Delete blank rows in a range

Select the A1 cell.

Press Ctrl + Shift + End to select a range.

Press Ctrl + G.

The Go To dialog box will appear.

Press Alt + S.

The Go To Special dialog box will appear.

Press K, and press Enter.

The blank rows in the range will be selected. Press Ctrl + – (minus).

The Delete dialog box will appear.

Use the ↓ (Down Arrow key) to select the Entire row, and press Enter.

All blank rows in the range have been deleted.

Please note that this method will also delete blank cells. To delete blank rows without deleting blank cells, please try the following method.

Use filters to remove blank rows

Select the A1 cell.

Press Ctrl + Shift + End to select a range.

Press Ctrl + Shift + L or Alt + A + T to apply the auto-filter and display the pull-down menu.

Select the pull-down menu for A1 cell.

Remove the check mark from Select All and place a check mark in Blanks. Press Enter.

Blank rows have been extracted. Select A3 cell.

Ctrl + Shift + End selects a blank row.

Press Ctrl + – (minus).

The Microsoft Excel dialog box will appear.

Press Enter.