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08_798452 ch04.qxp 3/13/06 7:36 PM Page 60
60 Part I: Creating Spreadsheets
Deleting and Inserting Data and Cells

Deletions in a worksheet are a little more complicated than in other software pro-
grams. This is because Excel gives you a choice between deleting only the cell entry,
leaving intact the cell structure and all assigned formatting attributes; clearing the
cell of all its contents without disturbing its structure; and removing the cell structure
along with everything its contains, causing remaining cell entries in neighboring cells
to adjust to fill in the gap:
Press the Delete key to remove only the entry in the current cell.
Choose Edit➪Clear➪All to remove the entry in the current cell plus all format-
ting attributes and comments.
Choose Edit➪Delete and then choose between the Shift Cells Up and the Shift
Cells Left options to remove the cell along with all its contents, formatting, and
comments and to adjust remaining cells in rows below up or in columns on the
right to the left.

The Insert➪Cells command is the opposite of Edit➪Delete. You use it to insert blank
cells in regions where you need to squeeze in data entries that were somehow left out.
In the process of squeezing in these blank cells, you can have Excel shift existing
entries down to rows below or to columns to the right.

You can delete and insert entire rows and columns from the worksheet by selecting
the Entire Row and Entire Column option in the Delete or Insert dialog box or by
selecting the rows and columns in the column and row header in the worksheet
and then selecting Edit➪Delete or Insert➪Columns or Insert➪Rows commands.
Be very cautious about deleting or inserting entire rows or columns in any worksheet,
especially one that you didn’t create or are not that familiar with. You can easily take
out vital data in tables and lists located in unseen regions of the worksheet when doing
a deletion. Inserting new columns and rows can be almost as dangerous, however, as
your insertions can just as well corrupt the accuracy or even disrupt the functionality
of the formulas in these unseen tables and lists. To stay on the safe side, constrain your
cell deletions and insertions to just the cell ranges in the region you’re working in.

Try It

Exercise 4-8: Deleting and Inserting Cells in the Spreadsheet
Open the Exercise4-8.xls workbook file in the Chapter 4 folder inside your My Practice
Spreadsheets folder or in the Excel Workbook folder on the workbook CD-ROM. This
file contains a copy of a House Sales table that you can use to practice deleting and
inserting cells and cell entries.

1. Select cell C4 with the selling price of the house on Elm Street and delete just
this entry by pressing the Delete key.
2. Enter 1250000 in now blank cell C4.
Because you only deleted the contents in cell C4, Excel applies the remaining
Currency style number format with no decimal places to the new entry you made
so it immediately appears as $1,250,000 in the cell.
3. Delete everything in cell C4 by choosing Edit➪Clear➪All.
4. Enter 735000 in the now blank cell C4.