How to Add, Hide, Freeze, or Remove Columns in Sheets

This article explains how to add, remove, and otherwise adjust columns in Google Sheets.

How to Add Columns in Sheets

Spreadsheets are made up of columns and rows, and to use them effectively it’s important to know how to change them to incorporate the information you want to track or the data you want to manipulate. To add a column to a Sheet:

1. Open Sheets as you normally would, and open the spreadsheet you want to add columns to. 

2. Decide where you want your column and hover over the letter at the top of one of the columns next to it. For example, here we want to add a column in between D and E, so we hover over E. 

3. Select the arrow that appears to bring up a menu. 

4. Select Insert 1 left or Insert 1 right, depending on where you want to place your new column. 

5. The new column will appear, and you can populate it with your data. 

   To add more than one column, decide where you want the columns and select the same number of columns next to them. Click the menu arrow at the top of one of the columns, and select Insert X left or Insert X right (X will be the number of columns you selected). 

6. The new column and data become part of your spreadsheet.

How to Remove Columns in Google Sheets

Let’s say the new column isn’t working out and you want to remove it. 

1. Open Google Sheets as you normally would, and open the spreadsheet you want to remove a column from. 

2. Hover over the letter at the top of the column you want to remove. Here we want to remove Column E, so we hover over E. 

3. Select the arrow that appears to bring up a menu. 

4. Select Delete column. The column will disappear. 

   To delete more than one column at a time, select the columns you want to delete, click the menu arrow, and select Delete columns X-Y (X and Y will be the first and last columns you highlighted). 

5. The two columns on either side of the deleted column will now be next to each other.

How to Hide Columns in Google Sheets

Instead of removing a column permanently, maybe you want to look at your data without that column just temporarily. In this case, you can hide the column. 

1. Open Google Sheets as you normally would, and open the spreadsheet you want to hide a column in. 

2. Hover over the letter at the top of the column you want to hide. Here we want to hide Column E, so we hover over E. 

3. Click the arrow that appears to bring up a menu. 

4. Select Hide column. The column will disappear.

5. You’ll see arrows in the columns on either side to indicate there’s a hidden column there. To unhide the column, click one of the arrows. 

How to Freeze Columns in Google Sheets

In a spreadsheet, it’s common to use the first column for identifiers of the information in subsequent columns. In our example, the first column (Column A) identifies cookie flavors, and the numbers in the rows next to their name represent their sales figures for each year. If you have a large number of columns, you might want to view those not currently in your screen while still keeping the first column open so you can still see the identifier. The method to use is called freezing. Here’s how to freeze columns. 

1. Open Google Sheets as you normally would, and open the spreadsheet you want to freeze a column in. 

2. At the top of the screen, choose View and hover over Freeze. 

3. Select the number of columns you want to freeze. In this example, we’ll just freeze one column. 

4. You’ll see a gray bar appear between the frozen and unfrozen columns. That means you can view the information in unfrozen columns without the frozen columns moving. 

5. To unfreeze, select View > Freeze > No columns.