Hide Column Shortcut in Google Sheets

Sometimes a column in your sheet is useful for a formula but ugly to look at. A helper column, a raw data column, a working calculation you don’t want anyone reading.

Deleting it would break the formulas that depend on it. Hiding it tucks the column out of sight while the data stays exactly where it is.

There’s a keyboard shortcut for it. The catch is that it only fires when you’ve selected the whole column first.

Hide Column Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Hide Column Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + Alt + 0

Hide Column Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + Option + 0

What this shortcut does

When the column is selected and you press the shortcut, the column disappears from view. The column letter is gone, and the column to its right slides over to fill the gap.

Two small arrows appear between the neighboring column letters. That’s the marker telling you a column is hidden there.

Nothing has been deleted. The data is still in those cells, and every formula that referenced the column keeps returning the same result.

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Click the column letter at the top of the sheet. The whole column highlights blue.
  2. Press the shortcut. The column tucks away.
  3. Look between the two column letters where it used to live. You’ll see a pair of small arrows pointing toward each other. That’s the unhide handle.
  4. To bring it back, click either arrow. The column reappears in the same spot.

A quick example. Say column C holds a working calculation that feeds into a summary in column D.

You want to share the sheet without the noisy middle column showing. Click the C header, hit the shortcut, and column C disappears.

Column D still shows the right totals because the formulas behind it still read from C. Nothing on the math side changes.

Alternative method (menu / mouse)

If the shortcut doesn’t respond, the right-click menu is always there:

  • Click the column letter to select the whole column.
  • Right-click the highlighted column letter.
  • Pick Hide column from the menu.

Same result, one extra click. Works on every Google Sheets setup with no settings to flip.

Things to watch for

  • The whole column must be selected. If you’ve only highlighted a few cells inside the column, the shortcut does nothing. Click the column letter at the top so the entire column lights up first.
  • Compatible spreadsheet shortcuts may need to be on. Open Help, then Keyboard shortcuts, and check that “Use compatible spreadsheet shortcuts” is enabled. Without it, some of these number-row combos stay dormant.
  • Mac function key behaviour. On Macs, the 0 here is the number-row zero, not the numpad. If you’re on a laptop with a Touch Bar or a remapped Fn row, the combo can clash with system shortcuts.
  • Hidden columns are excluded from print by default. That’s usually what you want. If you ever need them printed, unhide before sending to print.
  • The arrows are tiny. On a dense sheet they’re easy to miss. If you can’t find them, select a range spanning the hidden column, right-click, and pick Unhide columns.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: