Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program with calculation and chart-building capabilities. We often use this Excel application to keep track of our important data.
Suppose you have to share your Excel sheet with other participants but don’t want them to see your denoted formatting. If that’s the case, then this clear formatting option can come in handy for you.
You can use the Clear Formats option or a keyboard shortcut to clear those formatting from Excel. In this article, I will show you how to remove the formatting in MS Excel quickly. Also, the way of adding a quick access toolbar for the Clear Formats option.
Without skipping, read the entire content to learn the clear formatting process on Excel.
Let’s begin!
How to Clear Formatting in MS Excel
While composing a data sheet, some unwanted formatting can appear on your Excel sheet. You can remove those formats manually by clicking the Clear Formats option or using the shortcut.
The Clear Formats option is applicable for both Windows & Mac users. So track down the steps appropriately.
Here are the steps to clear the formatting in Microsoft Excel:
1. Clear Formatting for all Selected Cells
If you want to remove the entire format of a Microsoft Excel sheet, follow the instructions stated below.
Here are the steps to clear the formatting for all selected cells in Excel:
- Open the MS Excel sheet.
- Select all the formatted cells.
- Move to the Home section.
- Expand the Clear option.
- Click on the Clear Formats option to remove the entire formatting.
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Use Shortcuts
Here are the steps to use shortcuts to remove formatting from MS Excel:
- Launch the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
- Press the Ctrl+A keys to select the entire sheet.
- Type the Alt+E+A+F buttons one by one to remove the Excel formatting.
Immediately you will notice that your existing format has vanished from the Excel sheet.
2. Remove a Specific Cell Formatting
If you don’t want to remove the entire sheet format and only want to clear a specific cell format, then track down the steps beneath.
Here are the steps to remove a specific cell formatting from MS Excel:
- Open the Microsoft Excel application.
- Select the Specific Cell from the Spreadsheet.
- Navigate to the Home menu.
- Click on the Clear option.
- Choose the Clear Formats section.
The current format from the particular Excel cell will disappear after you complete these steps.
However, read the next heading if you want to use the Clear Formats option with a single click.
Here’s a complete guide on how to Lock and Unlock Cells in Excel.
How to Set the Clear Formats Option in the Quick Access Toolbar on MS Excel
You can add the Clear Formats option in the Quick Access Toolbar on MS Excel. With the help of this toolbar, you will be able to use the Clear formats feature with a single click. Let’s find out how you can do that.
Here are the steps to set the Clear Formats option in the Quick Access Toolbar on Excel:
- Start the MS Excel program.
- Navigate to the File section.
- Select the More option then the Options menu to open the Excel Options window.
- Move to the Quick Access Toolbar section.
- Expand the Choose command from section and choose the All Commands option.
- Scroll down, select the Clear Formats option, and click on the Add button.
- Hit the OK box.
The Clear Formats option is now added to your Quick Access Toolbar. You can see that from the top left corner of the Excel sheet.
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How to Remove Formatting from the Blank Cells in MS Excel
You can highlight the specific area of a sheet to remove the formatting from blank cells on Excel. Then find the empty cells and clear their format, or you can delete the unwanted ones.
Here are the steps to remove formatting from the blank cells in MS Excel:
- Open the Excel program and Highlight your specific area from the sheet.
- Press the F5 button to launch the Go To windows.
- Click on the Special box.
- Select the Blanks option and hit the OK button.
- Move to the Home menu when the blank cells are selected.
- Click on the Clear option and select the Clear Formats section.
The formatting is removed from your selected blank cells.
Sometimes MS Excel adds formatting to your spreadsheet automatically. To disable that automated feature, you can follow the next heading.
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How to Remove Automatic Formatting in MS Excel
There is an inbuilt automatic formatting feature implemented on Microsoft Excel. But if you don’t want that feature, you can disable it from the Excel Options menu.
Let’s sort out how to disable the automatic format option on MS Excel.
Here are the steps to remove automatic formatting in MS Excel:
- Launch the Excel program.
- Click on the File section.
- Select the More > Options menu.
- Move to the Proofing section.
- Click on the AutoCorrect Options box.
- Choose the AutoFormat As You Type section.
- Uncheck your desired checkbox.
- Click on the OK button when your modification is complete.
With the help of these simple steps, you can easily remove auto-formatting from the Microsoft Excel app. But remember, when you are dealing with a lot of data, the auto-formatting feature can be helpful.
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FAQs
What is the shortcut for clear formatting in Microsoft Excel?
To clear the formatting from the MS Excel sheet, you need to select the cells first and then press the Alt+E+A+F buttons one by one.
Why can’t I format cells in Excel?
When your MS Excel Sheet is Locked, you can’t format any cells. You must unlock the Excel spreadsheet with the password and then apply formatting to your Excel cells.
Where are format cells in Excel?
In order to locate the Format Cells on MS Excel, you must follow Home > Format > Format Cells.
Summary
With the help of the Formatting feature on MS Excel, you can easily design your data cells to make them more understandable and clear.
Nevertheless, if you want to clear the formatting from any Excel cells, you can use the Clear Formats option. Also, some shortcuts are available to perform the task, and I mentioned them in this article.
Additionally, from this content, you can learn how to use the Clear Formats menu with a single click. I hope this article helps you to solve your issue.
You can ask me any questions related to this article in the comment box.
