Excel · Delete cells, rows or columns
Rows
Windows · Linux
Ctrl+MinusMac
Cmd+MinusRemoves the cells and pulls the rest in to close the gap; unlike Delete, which only clears contents, the cells themselves go and the rows below move up.
- Group
- Rows
- Keys held
- 2
Excel diverges most on the Mac. F4 for absolute references is Cmd+T there, and a few Ctrl combinations stay Ctrl rather than becoming Cmd.
Reading the key names
- Keys joined by + are pressed together: Ctrl+Shift+P means hold Ctrl and Shift, then P.
- On a Mac, Cmd is ⌘, Option is ⌥ (labelled Alt on some keyboards), Control is ⌃ and Shift is ⇧.
- Windows Ctrl usually becomes Cmd on a Mac, but not always — this reference lists both combinations separately.
- With a Korean, Japanese or Chinese input method active, shortcuts built on letter keys may not fire. Switch to Latin input and try again.
- When a combination does nothing, another program has often claimed it as a global shortcut first.
Common questions
Q. What is the shortcut for Delete cells, rows or columns in Excel?
Removes the cells and pulls the rest in to close the gap; unlike Delete, which only clears contents, the cells themselves go and the rows below move up. It is Ctrl+Minus on Windows and Cmd+Minus on a Mac.
Q. Is it the same on Windows and Mac?
No — Ctrl+Minus on Windows, Cmd+Minus on a Mac.
Q. How many keys is that?
2 pressed together. The combination sits under Rows in Excel.