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Home»Software»Excel»How to Remove Formatting in Excel?

How to Remove Formatting in Excel?

Asmi DhakalBy Asmi DhakalDecember 13, 2022
removing-formatting-in-excel

Many professionals prefer having an Excel workbook without any formatting. In cases such as this, you would want to remove formatting in Excel. While you could deselect each format from the Home ribbon, the process is tedious if you have layered multiple formats on top of each other.

Although you can make certain text or cells stand out from the Excel grid by changing its format, it is very easy to go overboard with it. If you want to remove the text or cell formatting in Excel, keep reading this article!

Table of Contents

  • How to Remove Formatting in Excel?
    • Using Clear Formats Option
      • On Windows
      • On Mac
      • On Web version
      • On Android/ iOS
    • Using Format Painter
    • Using Paste Special
    • Through Table Design
  • How to Remove Source Formatting?

How to Remove Formatting in Excel?

You can easily revert the formatting settings for a single cell or multiple cells from the Excel grid. You can clear text formatting such as bold, italic, and underline to conditional formatting for both text and cell formats.

Using Clear Formats Option

Excel has the option to clear formats for all selected cells in the Editing section of the Home tab. This will remove all formatting for both texts and cells. You can also use Alt + H + E + F to clear the format from cells by navigating through the ribbon.

On Windows

  1. Open Microsoft Excel to open your document. 
  2. Select the section you want to reset the formatting on your page, or use Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all elements from your grid.
  3. From Home, select the icon with the purple eraser in the Editing section.clear format excel
  4. Choose Clear Formats.
    clear formats excel

On Mac

  1. Open Microsoft Excel on your Mac.
  2. Open your document.
  3. From the menu bar, select Edit.
    edit-excel-mac
  4. Choose Clear, then select Formats.

On Web version

  1. Open your browser and navigate to Excel Online.
  2. Log in with your outlook credentials. 
  3. Open your document.
  4. Select the text or cell you want to revert the formatting for. If you want to clear the workbook’s formatting, use Ctrl + A.
  5. From the Home tab, select the horizontal three-dot on the ribbon.
    Excel web options
  6. Under Editing, select Clear > Clear Formats.
    clear format excel web2

On Android/ iOS

  1. Open the mobile application version of Microsoft Excel.
  2. Open your document.
  3. Tap on the cell you wish to clear the formatting for.
  4. Select the icon with the letter A on top of the program.
    Excel mobile menubar
  5. From the home tab, scroll down to select Clear.
    clear excel mobile app
  6. Choose Clear Formats.
    clear formats excel mobile app

Using Format Painter

You can also use the format painter in Excel to remove all formatting from your Excel cell. You can use the format painter to paste the format of an empty to the cell with your formatted cell. The Format painter is currently unavailable in the mobile application version of MS Excel.

  1. Open your worksheet.
  2. Select an empty cell from the Excel grid.
  3. From the Home tab, select the paintbrush icon from the Clipboard section.
    format painter
  4. Select the cell formatted cell.
    format painter2

Using Paste Special

You can also use paste special in the grid to remove formatting. This method is especially useful in clearing formats for bigger workbooks. This method is limited to the desktop version of Excel 365.

  1. Select your content from the grid, then copy it (Ctrl + C / Command + C).
  2. Right-click on the grid, then choose Paste Special.
    paste special excel
  3. Under Paste, select the box next to Values.
    paste special value
  4. Click OK.

Through Table Design

If you wish to keep the table but do not want it to appear as one, you can clear its table style. You can still use features such as Sort and creating Power Query with your table elements.

  1. Open your workbook, then select your table.
    select table excel
  2. Head to the Table Design tab.
  3. Select the fly-out menu from the Table Styles section.
    excel table style
  4. Click on the first option under Light.
    Light table style

How to Remove Source Formatting?

When you copy-paste content directly from the web to your Excel grid, your text may still have the formatting from the website. In cases such as this, you can use Paste Options to ensure that the format of the pasted content matches your current Excel format. However, you must be sure that no formatting is applied to your current workbook for this method to work.

  1. Copy your desired content from the web.
  2. Open your workbook and right-click on the Excel grid.
  3. Under the Paste Options, select Match Destination Formatting.
    match destination format excel
how-to
Asmi Dhakal
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Asmi Dhakal is a Tech Writer specializing in Microsoft Office-based programs at TechNewsToday. She aims to use her experience to help others learn their way around its programs. Asmi’s interest in Office products grew when she first entered the marketing industry. While she initially struggled to understand their application, she eventually understood her way around them. In her articles, she exhibits a strong understanding of related issues and attempts to push only relevant fixes. Over time, she has grown a particular fondness for MS Excel and spends her free time learning Visual Basic Analysis (VBA). She’s always on the lookout for productivity tools that can get the job done quicker in Excel. Her approach to related problems is very humane, helping new users not only fix the issue but learn more about its nature. Asmi also heavily indulges in personal writing. She is a disciplined journal writer and has maintained a regular journal for 8 years! When her schedule allows, she works to rehabilitate street animals. You can contact her at asmi@technewstoday.com

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