How To Insert Columns and Rows in Microsoft Excel (Mobile, Desktop, and Web)

Easily add more data to your spreadsheets

It’s easy to add new columns and rows to an Excel spreadsheet. In this article, we’ll show you how to add a column (or row) in Microsoft Excel for desktop, web, and mobile.

How to Add Columns and Rows in Excel for Desktop

The following three methods will work for both the Windows and Mac versions of Microsoft Excel.

To insert a new column or row:

Note:When you select a column or row that has formatting applied, that will apply to the new column or row that you added. If you don’t want this to occur, selectInsert Options, then selectClear Formatting.

An alternative method is to right-click a cell where you’d like to insert a new row or column.

Then, selectInsert…and select eitherEntire roworEntire column.

The quickest way to add columns and rows in Excel is by using thebuilt-in keyboard shortcuts. To add a column, click the column letter to select the entire column. This is known as the column header. Then, pressCtrl+Shift++to add a new column.

For example, if your selected column is Column A, your inserted column will appear to the left and the original column will become Column B.

To add a new row, do the same thing but select the entire row by clicking the number on the left-most column. This is known as the row header.

You can insert multiple columns or rows at the same time by selecting a number of columns and rows. When you pressCtrl+Shift++, they’ll appear to the left (or below).

Note:You can also use the alternative keyboard shortcut for adding columns,Alt+I+C.

How to Add Columns and Rows in Excel for Web

To insert a new column or row in Microsoft Excel for the web:

How to Add Columns and Rows in Excel for Mobile

To insert a column or row on Excel for mobile:

Adding Columns Is Easy

Microsoft Office provides users with a lot of powerful tools, and Excel is one of the best. However, it can be hard to get used to, even if you know all thetips and tricks. Hopefully, thanks to this tutorial, you can now add columns and rows with ease.

Jake Harfield is an Australian freelance writer whose passion is finding out how different technologies work. He has written for several online publications, focusing on explaining what he has learned to help others with their tech problems. He’s an avid hiker and birder, and in his spare time you’ll find him in the Aussie bush listening to the birdsong.Read Jake’s Full Bio

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