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How to Move a Column in MS Excel

by Tech Desk
by Tech Desk

This tip is about the how to Move a Column in MS Excel. So read this free guide, How to Move a Column in MS Excel step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.

How to Move a Column in MS Excel – Guide

If you use Microsoft Excel a lot in your day-to-day, you need to know that it has several features that make it easier to manage and analyze data. To get the most out of these features, it is important that you organize and format the data in a spreadsheet. Sometimes you may need to swap some columns to see your data side by side. You can try to hide neighboring columns for a while. However, this is not always the best approach, as you might also need to see the data in these columns.

Surprisingly, Microsoft Excel does not provide an easy way to perform this general process. Just trying to drag a column name, which seems to be the most obvious way to move columns, you might be confused to find that it doesn’t work. Cells in your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet are divided into rows or columns that run horizontally or vertically across the screen or page. You can type data into cells or copy and paste data and then format or perform math on it. However, you may find that you need to move columns in Excel when data is in the wrong position.

How to Move columns in Excel

There are several ways to rearrange columns in an Excel spreadsheet, but one is easier than all the others. All it takes is a highlight and a drag and drop motion. Here it is how to move columns in Excel using the mouse.

  • On the worksheet where you want to rearrange the columns, place your cursor at the top of the column you want to move. You should see the cursor change to an arrow. When this happens, click to highlight the column.
  • Then press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard, then click and hold on the right or left edge of the column you want to move and drag it to the right or left.
  • As you drag the cursor across the columns, you will see the borders darken to indicate where the new column will appear. When you are satisfied with the location, release the mouse click.
  • Your column will be moved to the location indicated by the darkest border.

    • How to Move a column in Excel with cut and paste

    The next easiest way to move a column in Excel is to cut and paste the column from the old location to the new one. This works the way you expected.

  • Highlight the column you want to move and press Ctrl + X on your keyboard to cut the column from its current location. You will see “marching ants” around the column to indicate that it has been cut from its current location.
  • Then highlight a column to the right of where you want to move the cropped column and right-click. From the menu, select Insert Cut Cells.
  • The new column is inserted to the left of the selected column.

    • How to Moving columns in Excel using a data sort

    Moving columns with a data sort is probably not the easiest way to move things if you only have one or two columns that need to be moved, but if you have a large spreadsheet and want to change the order of several columns, this little one trick can save a lot of time.

  • To get started, you need to add a row right at the top of the spreadsheet. To do this, right-click on the first row and select Insert from the context menu.
  • A new line is inserted above the top line. This line must be at the top of the page, above all other header lines or information lines.
  • Scroll through the worksheet and number the columns in the order you want them to appear in the worksheet, typing a number in the new top row. Be sure to number each column you are using.
  • Then select all the spreadsheet data you want to rearrange. Then, on the Data tab, in the Sort and Filter group, click Sort.
  • In the Sort dialog box, click Options.
  • In the Sort Options dialog, click the radio button next to Sort Left to Right and click OK.
  • You will be returned to the Sort dialog. From the Sort By drop-down menu, select Row 1 and click OK.
  • This should sort your columns according to the numbers listed in the first row. Now you can right click on the first row and select Delete to get rid of it.

    • Final note

    I hope you like the guide How to Move a Column in MS Excel. In case if you have any query regards this article you may ask us. Also, please share your love by sharing this article with your friends.

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