Have you ever had a Google Sheets spreadsheet that was overflowing with blank rows? These rows can have been added by mistake or remain after data has been removed. Whatever the reason, empty rows can make it difficult to read, analyze, and publish the data in your spreadsheet.
We’ll demonstrate how to delete or remove empty rows from Google Sheets in this blog post, so you can quickly and easily tidy up your spreadsheet.
Why do we Delete/Remove Empty Rows in Google Sheets?
There are different reasons for deleting/removing the Empty rows in Google Sheets, some of which are:
- Confusion: Reading and interpreting the data from empty rows in a spreadsheet might take a lot of work. It could also be challenging to tell where the data starts and stops
- Printing: Empty rows can result in pointless page breaks and paper waste if you intend to print the spreadsheet
- Efficiency: Large spreadsheets with empty rows take longer to load and can negatively impact your computer’s performance
- Analysis: Since empty rows could be included in computations, they could affect the accuracy of any data analysis you might run on the sheet
How to Delete/Remove Empty Rows in Google Sheets?
There are three different methods by which one can delete the empty rows in Google Sheets:
Method 1: Delete/Remove Empty Rows Using the Filter
Let us make the understanding this method by considering a Google Sheet of “Students Result” having some empty rows:
In the figure above, it can be seen that rows 7, 10, and 16 are empty so we will delete empty rows by using the filter method. For this, first, select all the cells of the Google Sheets:
Now, click on “Data” in the menu bar and then choose “Create a filter” from the drop-down menu:
Then click on the “filter” icon on the headers of each column:
A drop-down menu will appear, first click on the “Clear” which will unselect all the options. Then choose “Blank” and press “Ok”. It will hide all the rows except the “Blank” or “Empty Row”:
The Google Sheet will look like the below figure:
Now select the “Empty” rows:
Then press the right mouse button, and choose “Delete selected rows” from the drop-down menu:
This will delete all the empty rows from the Google Sheets:
The empty rows are deleted from the Google Sheets using the filter method.
Method 2: Delete/Remove Empty Rows Sorting the Data
Another method of deleting the empty rows in Google Sheets is by sorting the data of the sheet. For this purpose, again we consider an example of Google Sheets having empty rows:
Again select the entire cell of the Google Sheet:
Then click on “Data” in the menu bar, choose the “Sort range”, and then choose “Sort by column H(Z to A)”:
Now all the empty rows are arranged together:
Simply select the empty rows and delete them:
The empty rows have been deleted:
Method 3: Delete/Remove Empty Rows Using Different Extensions
There are different add-ons that can be used to delete the empty rows from the Google Sheets. To install the add-ons, click on “Extensions” in the Google Sheets, then “Add-ons”, and then from the drop-down menu “Get add-ons”:
In the search bar, search add-ons for deleting empty rows:
Now choose “Free of charge” by clicking on “Price”:
We will download “Sutra Tools” depending on their reviews:
After a few steps of verifying your Google account, the add-on will be added to the Google Sheets. To use it for deleting the empty rows, select the entire Google Sheet:
Then click on “Extensions”, then “Sutra Tools”, then “Instant Operations”, next “Delete Empty Rows” and finally choose “In Current Sheet”:
It will delete all the empty rows from the entire sheet:
Conclusion
To delete/remove empty rows in Google Sheets, three different methods can be adopted. These methods are by filtering and sorting the data or using the extensions. In this blog, all these methods are demonstrated with the help of examples for a better understanding.
