In Excel you have the ability to group rows and columns together so that you can easily hide and show detail. Our example shows sales and expense data from several branches.
Group Rows
To group rows together, start by selecting the first row that you’d like to hide and end with the last row that you’d like to hide. In our example, we would select the first row of the branch and then the last branch.
To group the rows, click on the Data ribbon and select Group in the Outline section of the ribbon. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Alt + Shift + Right.
This now created a grouping for those rows. You can see a box to the left of the bottom of the group. You can click this box to hide (the box will show a “- ” sign) or show the detail (the box will show a “+” sign).
The collapsed data is now a bit easier to read, but allows you to still see the detail when/if you want it.
Group Columns
The same process can be followed to group columns. You select the first column you want to hide and stop with the last column you want to hide. A box will now appear above the column header of the end of the group. You can click this box as well to show/hide detail.
Ungroup
To ungroup rows or columns, you select the rows/columns you want to ungroup and then simply click on the Data ribbon, and select Ungroup in the Outline section. You can also use the shortcut Alt + Shift + Left.
