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Knowing how to organize Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and workbooks is a broad subject. Many instantly think about big data across multiple spreadsheets and know a plethora of formulae to organize it all into a series of charts and diagrams that make sense of it all.
For new users of Microsoft Excel, this can all feel incredibly daunting, which is why PC Guide is here to help with the basics. After all, there’s no point in creating a 3D pie chart if basic knowledge on how to use Microsoft Excel isn’t present.
How to move columns in Excel
Learning how to move columns in Excel is an essential bit of knowledge, albeit a bit trivial on the surface. Sometimes, Microsoft Excel doesn’t behave the way it should cognitively. Something that should be drag and drop really isn’t, which can lead to some major headaches when formulae and other tools are involved.
If you’re looking for how to add and create columns and rows, we’ve got that covered too over on our Office hub, the home to all of our Microsoft Office-based how-to guides. But for now, let’s get into how to move columns (and rows) in Excel.
Highlight
This isn’t a simple drag-over and right-clicks to copy, this process works a little differently in Excel to keep spreadsheets from suffering easy to make human errors. First, highlight the column or row that needs to be moved by clicking the header containing the relevant letter or number.
Click and Drag
Next, move the cursor to the top-right of the column or row until it turns into a black cross-hair. Now, hold shift, left-click and drag the row or column line to the desired location as shown below.
Release
Release the click to complete moving the column or row to the desired location, and that’s that. If said column or row needs moving back, just repeat the steps above and it’s a job well done.
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