How to Unhide Columns in Google Sheets

Published on October 31, 2023 by Jake Sheridan

Google Sheets allows you to hide and unhide columns, just like any other spreadsheet program. The main purpose of hiding columns is to better organize your document and data. For example, you may have columns with formulas or calculations that you don’t need to see all the time. You may also have columns with a lot of necessary information, but they extend so far that you have to scroll the sheet to see the end.

Hiding columns can make it easier to visualize data in your sheet. But once you have hidden them, you may need to unhide them in order to make changes or review the data.

How to Unhide Columns in Google Sheets (2 Methods)

There are two very simple ways to unhide columns in Google Sheets. This works the same way on a Mac, PC, or the Google Sheets app on your mobile device. Both methods are very simple and easy to remember. Neither method is more effective than the other – both methods will make your columns appear. Ultimately, it depends on the method you remember when you need to unhide columns.

But first, how do you know if a column is hidden?

You will know that one or more columns are hidden in Google Sheets in two ways:

• The first sign of hidden columns is that the letter of the cell disappears. For example, the columns will go from D to M. The columns and all the data they contain will be hidden.

• The second way to know if there are hidden columns is the small arrows on each side of the hidden column labels.

Method 1

The first way to unhide a column is to click or tap on the small arrow on each side of the hidden column. By doing this, the hidden columns and all the information will immediately reappear. This is the simplest way to unhide columns. However, the second method to unhide columns is not very complicated either…

Method 2

If you are on a desktop computer and need to unhide columns in Google Sheets, you can follow the easy steps below:

1. Click on the column header next to the hidden columns.
2. Drag your cursor to the right until you have highlighted the column on the other side of the hidden columns.
3. Right-click anywhere on the highlighted column headers.
4. A menu will appear. Click on “Unhide Columns”.
5. The columns and all the information they contain will immediately reappear.

When you follow this method, here are the options you will see when you right-click on a column:

You can unhide columns in two very easy ways. Neither process requires many steps to complete. Both methods allow you to display your columns without disrupting your sheet or the data it contains.

Summary

In this tutorial, I have explained how to unhide columns in Google Sheets. Want more? Check out all the Google Sheets tutorials on Crawlan.com.