Avoid unintentionally distributing hidden information, such as the document's author, names that are associated with comments or tracked changes, or hidden cells or worksheets, by removing hidden data.

Use the Document Inspector to Remove Hidden Data

To open the Document Inspector, click the Office button, and click Prepare > Inspect Document. The Excel Document Inspection window shown below opens up.

Click Inspect to identify hidden content, and then on Remove All to remove the item of your choice.

After you have completed these steps, save the document, and the spreadsheet will not contain the hidden data that you have removed.

Edit Document Properties, Personal Information and Other Document Data

To selectively edit or remove document data, click the Office Button, click Prepare, > Properties. Delete or edit information.

Selectively Remove or Edit Comments

Microsoft Excel offers the ability to add comments to workbooks. Typically, comments contain the name of the person who created them, and they appear as a small red triangle in the upper-right corner of a cell. To view a comment, click the cell and the comment will pop up. To delete a comment, right-click the cell containing the comment, and then click Delete Comment on the shortcut menu.

Selectively Display Hidden Cells, Rows, and Columns

In Microsoft Excel, it is possible to hide entire rows and columns of cells within a worksheet.

To unhide all of the cells in a worksheet:

Selectively Display Hidden Worksheets

Workbooks in Microsoft Excel may contain hidden sheets that contain information.

To unhide sheets:

Remove Tracked Changes manually or selectively


Microsoft Excel includes a Track Changes feature that allows you to track changes made to a shared workbook by a user. To remove tracked changes from a workbook, follow these steps:

  1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Track Changes, and then click Accept/Reject Changes. 
  2. Make your selection to Accept All or Reject All.

Back to Removing Hidden Data Home


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