Have you ever needed to move AND insert an Excel column quickly. If you are trying to move it to a place that already has information you first need to insert a column otherwise it wants to overwrite the information. The place it moved from will also have a blank column which you may want to delete.
Table of contents
YouTube Move and Insert Column shortcuts
How to do a ‘Normal’ move column in Excel
Very simple.
- Highlight a column
- Move your cursor to the edge of the column until it turns into a compass (see below)
- Left click and hold
- Drag to where you want it to go.
It will warn you if the column is going to overwrite some other column of data. It will also leave a blank column behind.
How to move and insert an Excel column in one go
Just as easy. Do exactly as above but instead of a left click, use a right click when you are going to drag it to the new column. So the steps are:
- Highlight a column
- Move your cursor to the edge of the column until it turns into a compass
- Right click and hold
- Drag to where you want it to go.
When you let go you will receive the following options
Choose the Shift Right and Move option.
You will see that
- all the columns shift right
- the column you moved is placed in the correct place
- the column that it came from is removed.
Want to learn more about Microsoft Excel? If you prefer live courses and live in South Africa look at the MS Excel training courses available. If you prefer online learning or live outside South Africa, look at our online MS Excel training courses.
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