Insert Column Shortcut in Google Sheets

Need to drop a fresh blank column into your sheet without right-clicking through the menu? There’s a keyboard combo for that.

It belongs to the same family as the insert-row shortcut. The only difference is what you have selected when you press it.

Get the selection right and a new column slides in cleanly. Get it wrong and Sheets pops up a small dialog asking what you meant.

Insert Column Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Insert Column Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + Alt + =

Insert Column Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + Option + =

What this shortcut does

The shortcut inserts one blank column to the left of whichever column you have selected. Everything to the right shifts one column over.

Formulas that pointed at cells in the shifted columns update their references on their own. You don’t have to fix them by hand.

The new column inherits the formatting of the column to its left. Same font, same background, same number format.

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Click the column letter at the top of the sheet to select the whole column. The column highlights in blue.
  2. Press the shortcut. A new blank column slips in to the left of the one you selected.
  3. The column you originally clicked is now one letter further to the right.

A quick example. You have data in columns A through D and you want to add a new column between B and C.

Click the column letter C. The whole column lights up.

Press the shortcut. C becomes the new blank column. The old C, D shift to D, E.

Alternative method (single-cell selection)

If you just have one cell selected (not the whole column), the plain shortcut pops up a small “Insert” dialog asking whether you want a row or a column.

To skip the dialog and insert a column from a single-cell selection, add Shift to the combo:

  • Windows: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + =
  • Mac: ⌘ + Option + Shift + =

You can also right-click any cell and pick Insert 1 column left or Insert 1 column right from the menu.

Things to watch for

  • Row vs. cell selection. A whole-column selection inserts straight away. A single-cell selection needs the Shift variant or it asks you to choose.
  • Mac function keys. If the combo seems to do nothing, check that no system shortcut on your Mac is mapped to the same keys. System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts is where to look.
  • Formatting carries over. The new column copies formatting from the column on its left. If that column had a yellow fill, the new one will too. Clear it with Format, Clear formatting if you don’t want it.
  • Formula references update. Most formulas pointing at the shifted columns adjust on their own. Absolute references with dollar signs may not behave the way you expect after a shift, so spot-check key formulas.
  • Inserts to the left, not right. Always to the left of the selected column. To add to the right of column C, select D and insert.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: