Last updated on: November 12, 2025
Handling large amounts of data is routine when working with Google Sheets or Excel. However, removing blank cells when thousands of entries are in the sheet can be pretty cumbersome. In this tutorial, you will learn how to crop Google Sheets.
Managing this daunting task manually while handling other entries can be pretty frustrating. Having several gaps in the Excel sheet where data is not to be entered or is missing is often very disappointing.
Scrolling up and down, left and right, to find the data entry is not how you would like your superiors to view the Google sheet.
If the missing entries are restricted to a few rows or columns, you might be able to make the changes quickly. However, if they are scattered across the sheet, you will need to find a more efficient way.
Why do you need to crop Google Sheets?
Did you know the spreadsheet, which seems endless and limitless, has a size limit? Yes, the Google Sheet has a limit of 5,000,000 cells, including any intentionally left blank rows and columns.
If you do not remove those blank cells, your sheet gets unnecessarily larger with several rows and columns. It might slow down performance or crash if it exceeds the size limit. You risk losing your precious data if this happens.
Moreover, you might even fail to recover it, which can be catastrophic, especially if it is essential to your operations.
As a result, deleting unnecessary blank items from your Google Sheet is essential. When you crop a Google Sheet, you reduce its overall size, thereby enhancing performance.
Also Read: How To Insert Checkboxes in MS Word
Crop Google Sheets: Hide or Remove Extra Rows and Columns
Considering the importance of reducing the size of Google Sheets by removing blank rows and columns, you must understand how to crop Google Sheets. There are several ways to do this. These include:
How to delete blank rows in Google Sheets?
Follow the given procedure to delete blank rows in Google Sheets.
Step 1: The primary step is highlighting the cells you wish to filter.
Step 2: Click the “Create a Filter” option on the Data tab, which opens filter icons for every header row column.
Step 3: Click the Filter icon on any column. In the dropdown menu, click Clear, then select the Blanks option. This helps select all blank cells in the chosen range.
Step 4: Once all blank rows are highlighted, right-click on any highlighted cells and click Delete rows. This will delete all blank columns.
Step 5: Select the Turn-Off Filter in the Data tab to restore your data.
How do you sort data sets and delete empty rows?
Another method is to sort the data set so that all empty rows are together. Once that is done, you can select and delete them quickly. Here are the steps to follow for this procedure.
1. Select the entire data set and click on the Data tab.
2. Click on Sort range by column A, Z → A to sort all empty rows at the bottom of the data set.
3. Once the empty rows are grouped, you can select and delete them at the same time quickly.
Remember that you cannot return to the original dataset once you have sorted it.
Also, remember that when sorting the data, you need to select the Z → A option instead of A → Z, as the latter will cause the data headers to be sorted and might end up at the middle or end of the data set.
How to use an Add-on to crop Google Sheets?
Although these methods are easy, if you are looking for an alternative option, several add-ons can help you crop Google Sheets.
The add-ons are codes written by programmers for specific purposes. You can install the add-on to crop Google Sheets and remove empty rows. The steps involved in this procedure are:
Step 1: To install the add-on, click the Add-ons option in the menu and click ‘Get add-ons.’
Step 2: Once the dialog box opens, search for ‘delete empty rows’ to get a list of add-ons in Google Sheets options that can help you with your query.
Step 3: Opt for a Crop Sheet or other free or paid versions. You can sign in to the Google Sheet using your Google account. You can also allow the add-in to access your account. Once that is done, the add-on can remove empty rows or columns in the Google Sheets.
Step 4: This add-on offers two methods for cropping Google Sheets. You can select the entire data set and click on the add-on option in the menu.
Hover the cursor on the Remove Blank Rows (and more!) option and click the Delete/Hide blank rows/columns option. Select ‘All row cells must be blank.’ Select “Remove Blank Rows” from the More options menu and click “Delete”.
Wrapping Up
Extra rows and columns can be a hindrance, especially if you do not want to share all the data in the Google Sheet with others.
If you need to share documents with multiple people, you can quickly crop Google Sheets using the techniques above before sending them.
