Google Sheets is one of the most popular spreadsheets for managing and analyzing data and collaborating with team members. Whether your dataset is small or large, it’s important to keep your Google Sheets organized and clean. One way he accomplishes this is by clearing the contents of cells that are no longer needed.
To remove all data, formulas or formatting from a sheet, this article provides a step-by-step guide on how to clear Google Sheets content. We’ll also show you how to clear multiple cells, how to clear cell contents in Google Sheets (without removing formulas), and how to get the cleanest possible spreadsheet.
How to Clear Google Sheets Content: A Step-by-Step Guide
Clearing cells in Google Sheets is a simple process that can be done manually or using a script. Here we explore different ways to clear the content of Google Sheets with multiple cells (without removing formulas).
Related: To enable screen reader support in Google Docs, press Ctrl+Alt+Z on Windows (Command+Option+Z on Mac).
Contents
How To Clear Cells in Google Sheets
To clear the contents of a single cell in Google Sheets:
- Click the cell containing the content you want to clear.
- Click the “Backspace” or “Delete” key.
How To Clear Multiple Cells in Google Sheets
If you need to clear multiple cells in Google Sheets:
- Select the cell range containing the contents you want to clear.
- Click the Backspace or Delete button on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click Edit > Delete > Value.
How to remove empty rows in Google Sheets
How To Clear Contents in Google Sheets Without Deleting Formulas
Clearing the contents of cells from a single cell or range of cells also removes the formulas contained in those cells. However, there is a way to clear the formatting without removing the formula:
- Select the cells containing the formatting you want to clear.
- Go to the Format menu and select Clear Format. Otherwise, press CTRL + on Windows and CMD + on macOS. Google Sheets removes the formatting while leaving the formula intact.
How To Use a Google Sheets Clear Content Script
You can use a custom script to clear formatting and content from a single cell (or multiple cells) or customize the script to ignore formulas. The following script removes formatting and content, but leaves the original formula intact:
“`
function clearContentAndFormatting() {
varsheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
var range =sheet.getActiveRange();
range.setValues(range.getFormulas());
range.clearFormat();
}
function onOpen() {
var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
ui.createMenu(‘Delete’)
.addItem(‘clear content and formatting’, ‘clearContentAndFormatting’)
.addToUi();
}
“`
To use this script to clear cells in Google Sheets:
- Go to the “Extensions” menu and select “Apps Script.”
- copy the script above and paste it into the code.gs file.
- Name and save the script, close the script editor and return to your sheet. Next to “Help” you will see the “Remove” menu.”
- Select the cells whose content and formatting you want to clear.
- Select Delete > Clear Content and Formatting.”
- As you can see below, the script clears the contents and formatting of the selected cells while leaving the SUM formula intact.
Related: How to Delete Multiple Google Sheets at Once
Conclusion
How to clear the contents of Google Sheets is a simple process that can be done with just a few clicks. To learn a myriad of options from seasoned professionals, check out our Google Forms and Sheets Masterclass.
Another great way to save time and effort? Use a collection of ready-made Google Sheets templates for various projects instead of creating your own from scratch. Use promo code SSP to get 50% discount on all templates.
