How To Delete Duplicates In Excel

Last Updated on May 16, 2023

Excel is a great tool for inputting data into spreadsheets and formatting it to make it as easy to read as possible.

You can copy large quantities of data into your spreadsheet without having to write every letter and number into each cell. It is an invaluable tool for many people.

However, what about when you’re adding data into your spreadsheet and you notice that some of the cells have been duplicated?

Instead of combing through all of your data and weeding out the duplicates yourself, Excel houses a feature that will do this for you.

Removing Duplicates From An Excel Spreadsheet

When using the remove duplicates feature, you should bear in mind that it will only affect the cells that you have highlighted. Other cells outside of the area that you have highlighted will not change, so duplicates will not be removed from these cells.

Personally, we would copy the entire spreadsheet and make a backup page on Excel so that you have the original data should something go wrong. The last thing you want is to lose all of your data due to an accidental slip of the cursor.

To make a duplicate spreadsheet, simply find your spreadsheet’s name at the bottom of the page and click the drop-down arrow next to the name of it. A menu should appear. Press Duplicate. Your spreadsheet should now be duplicated into another page.

You can rename this page to remind yourself, and others who might be working on the Excel spreadsheet, that this is a backup page and not the main page.

1

How To Remove Duplicates From Your Excel Spreadsheet

Let’s take a look at how you can remove duplicates from your Excel Spreadsheet.

Step

1

Select Range Of Cells

Firstly, you need to select the range of cells that you want to remove the duplicates from. Make sure that the active cell is within this range of cells before selecting them.

Step

2

Find the Data tab along the ribbon banner at the top of your screen. In the Data Tools group, select the button that’s named Remove Duplicates.

Step

3

Select Columns

Now travel to the Columns tab, and select one or more of your spreadsheet’s columns. To select all of the columns, press the button labeled Select All. On the other hand, to unselect all of the columns, click Unselect All.

Now you can remove duplicates from as many or as little columns of your spreadsheet within seconds.

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What About Excel Online?

Excel online is a free online version of Excel that anyone can use. It has slightly different rules than the paid version of Excel, so the above method might not work for the web browser version.

Step

1

Find Data Clean Up Option

To remove duplicates from an online spreadsheet, highlight the cells that you want to remove duplicates from and find the Data tab from the ribbon banner. Use the drop-down menu to find the Data Clean Up option.

Step

2

Remove Duplicates

Hover over this subheading for a moment until a pop-up menu comes out of the side of it. Click Remove Duplicates.

Click all of the columns that you want to remove duplicates from, or select them all. Now press Remove Duplicates to save your changes. A pop-up box will show you how many duplicates have been removed as well as how many unique values remain.

Summary

Hopefully this article has helped you learn how to remove duplicates from your Excel spreadsheet. If you are looking for a way to remove duplicates from Excel without having to delete the whole document, then this guide is perfect for you.

Make sure that you are using the correct method for the platform that you are using Excel on. The web browser version is slightly different to the paid version, so each method might not work on the other version of Excel.