In this article, you will discover everything you need to know about the strikethrough formatting option in Google Sheets, including how to add or remove it.
Strikethrough formatting is commonly used in word processing documents, but you may also need it in Sheets. Why use strikethrough formatting when you can simply delete the data? Because it visually indicates that the data has been deleted without actually removing it.
It can also be used to highlight changes, mark the completion of an item in a to-do list, or in a situation where the information is no longer relevant but you want to keep the original text for reference.
There are several ways to add strikethrough formatting in Google Sheets, and this article will present 5 of them. Let’s dive in!
What is Strikethrough Formatting?
Strikethrough formatting involves adding a horizontal line through the center of words, resulting in a strikethrough text. Unlike censored, sanitized, or redacted text, the words remain legible.
This presentation indicates one of two meanings. In texts written in ink, typewritten, or other non-erasable texts, the words are a mistake and are not meant to be included. When used on a computer screen, it can indicate deleted information. It can also be deliberately used to indicate a change in thought.
In simpler terms, strikethrough text does not disappear. It is crossed out without hiding the content below. You can still read the strikethrough text. And since it is a formatting, it can also be removed so you can keep the words or phrases.
Adding Strikethrough from the Toolbar
It’s usually easier to work with the formatting toolbar as you don’t need to search for menu options or remember keyboard shortcuts. It’s just one click away.
Here are the steps to add strikethrough formatting from the toolbar:
- Select the text you want to format with strikethrough.
- Click on the strikethrough icon in the toolbar. When you click on the strikethrough icon, it will turn green.
That’s it! Your selection will now have strikethrough formatting.
This is a quick and easy method to add strikethrough formatting to any text. If you want to remove the strikethrough formatting, select the cells where the formatting has already been applied and click the strikethrough icon again, and the formatting will be removed.
It’s a great way to indicate that the data is no longer relevant without hiding it from view.
Adding Strikethrough from the Format Menu
The second option to apply strikethrough formatting is found in the Format menu.
Follow these steps to add strikethrough formatting from the Format menu:
- Select the cell(s) where you want to add strikethrough formatting. It can be a single cell or a range of cells.
- Go to the Format menu at the top of the page.
- Select the Text option from the dropdown menu. This will open the submenu with all the text formatting options.
- Select the strikethrough formatting from the options.
Once you have selected the strikethrough formatting, it will be immediately applied to your selected text.
Adding Strikethrough with a Keyboard Shortcut
You can also add strikethrough formatting with a keyboard shortcut if you prefer using your keyboard over the mouse.
To use this keyboard shortcut for strikethrough formatting:
- Select the cell(s) where you want to apply strikethrough formatting.
- Press Alt + Shift + 5 on the keyboard.
Hold down the Alt and Shift keys and then press the 5 key.
If you frequently use strikethrough formatting, the keyboard shortcut is the fastest way to speed up the process. Just remember the keys. 😉
Adding Strikethrough with Conditional Formatting
Strikethrough formatting is commonly used when dealing with to-do lists or lists of things to do.
What is a to-do list? It’s a list of tasks that you need to accomplish or want to do.
Here, I have created a to-do list using checkboxes and conditional formatting to automatically apply strikethrough formatting.
Whenever you check a checkbox, the text in the corresponding cell gets the strikethrough formatting applied.
This is a great visual indicator to show that the task has been marked as completed!
Conditional formatting plays a crucial role in this solution, and Google Sheets makes it easy to add strikethrough formatting with conditional formatting.
All conditional formatting rules are based on a simple logic – if a condition is true, then apply the selected format. In this scenario, the formatting will be applied when you check any of the checkboxes.
The value in the checkbox cell is TRUE when the checkbox is checked and FALSE when the checkbox is unchecked. This value is then used in the conditional formatting rule to apply the strikethrough formatting.
Here’s how you can implement this conditional formatting scenario:
- Select a range of cells where you want to place the checkboxes. In this example, all the checkboxes are in column A.
- Click on the Insert menu.
- Choose the Checkbox option from the options.
The cells with checkboxes will have a TRUE or FALSE value. If the checkbox is checked, the value is TRUE, and if the checkbox is unchecked, the value is FALSE.
You can see this by selecting any cell containing a checkbox and looking at the formula bar.
These checkboxes are special checkboxes that allow you to toggle the values.
The selection will have checkboxes added.
- Select the cell where you want to add the strikethrough formatting when the checkbox is checked. This is column B in this example.
- Click on the Format menu.
- Then select the Conditional formatting option. This will open the Conditional formatting pane on the right.
- Click on the Add new rule option in the Conditional formatting pane.
- Click on the Apply to range dropdown menu and select the range of cells containing the checkboxes.
- Click on the Apply to rule dropdown menu and select Custom.
- In the Value or formula field, enter = A2.
- Select the strikethrough formatting in the Formatting style section. You can also specify any other additional format you want.
- Click the OK button.
This will apply the strikethrough formatting to all items where the checkbox is checked.
Conditional formatting is dynamic, so if you check any of the checkboxes, the corresponding cell will automatically get the strikethrough formatting applied. Similarly, when you uncheck a checkbox, the strikethrough formatting will be removed.
Adding Strikethrough with Apps Script
If you prefer, you can automate the process of adding strikethrough formatting with the help of Apps Script.
Go to the Extensions menu and select Apps Script to open the script editor.
Without adding any manual formatting, this script will automatically add the strikethrough formatting.
All you have to do is check the checkbox, and the strikethrough formatting will be inserted in the adjacent cell.
This is made possible by using the onEdit trigger in Apps Script.
This allows you to automatically run Apps Script functions when specific events occur. The onEdit trigger runs when the user modifies a value in the spreadsheet.
Whenever the spreadsheet detects a cell edit, it checks if the value of the checkbox is set to true.
If the value is true, it changes the text line style of the adjacent cell using the setFontLine class.
When the checkbox is unchecked and the value is set to false, the script sets the font style to null.
function onEdit(e) {
var mySheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
var myRange = e.range;
var mySheetName = mySheet.getSheetName();
var myStatus = myRange.getValue();
var currRow = myRange.getRow();
var currCol = myRange.getColumn();
var myItem = mySheet.getRange(currRow, currCol + 1);
if ( mySheetName === 'Apps Scripts' && currCol === 1 ) {
if ( myStatus ) {
myItem.setFontLine("line-through");
} else {
myItem.setFontLine(null);
};
};
};You can write the script if you are familiar with Apps Script code, or you can copy and paste the code from the script above into the Apps Script environment.
The only modification you will have to make is to update or change the sheet name “Apps Scripts” in the code line above to the name of your sheet.
With this small script, you’ll be able to add strikethrough formatting to any Google Sheet you’re working on.
Removing Strikethrough Formatting
So far, you’ve seen different methods to apply strikethrough formatting. Now, I’ll show you how to remove strikethrough formatting.
Like other formats in Google Sheets, you can remove strikethrough formatting by repeating the same process as when adding the format.
The strikethrough commands all act as toggle switches, adding or removing the format based on the current state.
This applies to the methods from the toolbar, Format menu, and keyboard shortcut to apply strikethrough formatting.
Removing Strikethrough with the Toolbar
Simply select the cells with strikethrough formatting and click the strikethrough format option from the toolbar.
Removing Strikethrough with the Format Menu
Select the cells with strikethrough formatting ➜ go to the Format menu ➜ select Text ➜ select Strikethrough from the options.
Removing Strikethrough with a Keyboard Shortcut
To use the keyboard shortcut:
- Select the cells from which you want to remove strikethrough formatting.
- Press Alt + Shift + 5 on the keyboard.
Removing Strikethrough from Conditional Formatting
The strikethrough added using conditional formatting cannot be removed using the previous methods. You will need to remove the conditional formatting rule.
To remove a conditional formatting rule, follow these steps:
- Go to the Format menu.
- Select the Conditional formatting option. This will open the Conditional formatting pane, which displays a list of all formatting rules.
- Click on the Trash icon, and it will remove the conditional formatting.
Removing Strikethrough from Apps Script
The strikethrough formatting applied by the script can be easily removed using any of the first three methods, but you will need to remove the script to prevent any further strikethrough lines from being added.
- Open the Script Editor using the Apps Script option in the Extensions menu.
- Select the project you want to delete and click on the vertical dots available on the panel.
- Click on Delete, and it will remove the project.
Removing Strikethrough using the Clear Formatting command
You can also use the Clear Formatting command to remove any strikethrough formatting. Follow these steps to use this option:
- Select the cell from which you want to remove the strikethrough formatting.
- Click on the Format menu.
- Choose the Clear formatting option from the options.
This can also be achieved through the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + /.
But the only challenge you will face by using this option is that it removes all other formatting from the selected cell.
Conclusion
Now, you should have all the necessary knowledge to correctly add strikethrough formatting in your Google Sheets.
You can also copy and paste the strikethrough formatting from one cell to another using the format painter.
Strikethrough formatting can be applied to any type of data, such as text, numbers, dates, or booleans.
Depending on what you want to do with your data, you can use these easy techniques to add strikethrough formatting to your Google Sheets.
Have you ever used strikethrough formatting in your Google Sheets? Do you have another method to apply strikethrough formatting? What’s your preferred method?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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