Deleting content from a cell in Google Sheets is usually as simple as clicking on the cell then pressing the Backspace key or the Delete key. This removes the data from the cell so that you can either leave the cell empty, or replace it with other data.
But sometimes you want to indicate that the data in a cell should be disregarded, but you either aren’t ready to delete it, or simply don’t want to delete it. This situation is perfect for the strikethrough feature in Google Sheets, which lets you draw a line through your text. Your readers can then tell that the data should be ignored, but it’s still there if someone wants it.
How to Strikethrough Text in Google Sheets
The steps in this article were performed in the desktop version of the Google Chrome Web browser. By completing these steps you will be be formatting text in your selected cells so that a line is drawn through that text.
Step 1: Sign into your Google Drive at https://drive.google.com and open the Sheets file containing the text you wish to strike through.
Step 2: Select the cell or cells to draw a line through.
Step 3: Click the Strikethrough button in the toolbar above the spreadsheet.
Note that you can also strikethrough selected text by pressing Alt + Shift + 5 on your keyboard.
Alternatively you can click the Format tab at the top of the window and select the Strikethrough option there.
Any of these three methods for drawing a line through text in Google Sheets can also be used to remove the strikethrough effect as well.
Is there a column of data that you don’t want to view, but can’t delete? Find out how to hide a column in Google Sheets so that people viewing the spreadsheet won’t see that data.
Matthew Burleigh has been a freelance writer since the early 2000s. You can find his writing all over the Web, where his content has collectively been read millions of times.
Matthew received his Master’s degree in Computer Science, then spent over a decade as an IT consultant for small businesses before focusing on writing and website creation.
The topics he covers for MasterYourTech.com include iPhones, Microsoft Office, and Google Apps.
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