In this chapter, we are going to take a brief look at hiding and grouping rows and columns. 

Hiding and Unhiding Rows

There may be times where you want to hide calculations occurring in different cells from users. You can hide rows individually or hide multiple rows. To hide rows, use the following steps:

1. Select the row or rows that you would like to hide.
2. Right-click the selected rows.
1. An options bar will appear.
3. Select Hide. (See Figure 13.1)
1. Excel will hide the selected rows from view.

These rows are still there; they’re just hidden from view. You will see that the rows go up to 7 and then skip to 13 in the next row. (See Figure 13.2)

To unhide a row, use the following steps:

1. Select the row above the hidden cells and the row below the hidden cells.
2. Right-click on these selected rows.
1. An options bar will appear.
3. Select Unhide. (See Figure 13.3)
1. Excel will unhide the hidden rows.
   

   

    

Hiding and Unhiding Columns

You can hide and unhide columns. To hide columns, use the following steps:

1. Select the column or columns you want to hide.
   1. These are columns C and D
1. For this practice, select the columns that contain the Price and Lead Time (wks) information.
2. Right-click on the selected columns.
1. An options bar will appear.
3. Select Hide. (See Figure 13.4)
1. Excel will hide the selected columns from view.

In this case, both columns C and D will be hidden, and the column will skip from B to E. (See Figure 13.5)

To unhide these columns, use the following steps:

1. Select the column before the hidden cells and the column after the hidden cells.
2. Right-click on the selected columns. 
1. An options bar will appear.
3. Select Unhide. (See Figure 13.6)
1. Excel will unhide the hidden columns.

Grouping and Ungrouping Columns

Grouping works the same way, but it’s even more convenient in some ways. To group columns, use the following steps:

1. Select the columns that you want to group.
2. Select the Data tab on the toolbar. 
3. Select Group. (See Figure 13.7)
1. A grouping bar will appear above the grouped columns. (See Figure 13.8)

This grouping bar has a collapsible button. When you select that button, those columns are collapsed into one group. The button will be replaced with an expand button, which will allow the user to see those columns visibly again once selected. (See Figure 13.9)

This allows you to expand or collapse quickly without having to right-click and choose Hide or Unhide.

To unhide a group, use the following steps:

1. Select the grouped columns.
2. Select the Data tab. (See Figure 13.7)
3. Select Ungroup. (See Figure 13.10)
1. The columns will be ungrouped, and the grouping bar will disappear.

Grouping in Multiple Layers

To create two levels of grouping, use the following steps:

1. Group columns C and D like you did before.
2. Select columns B through F.
3. Select the Data tab. 
4. Select Group. (See Figure 13.7)
1. Two grouping bars will appear, one longer than the other. (See Figure 13.11)

The numbers to the left of the grouping bars refer to the level of grouping. (See Figure 13.11)

If the number 1 is selected, it collapses everything. If the number 2 is selected, the first level expands (columns B, E, and F). If the number 3 is selected, all of the levels will be expanded. To get rid of the grouping, use the following steps:

1. Select all the grouped columns.
2. Select the Data tab. (See Figure 13.7)
3. Select Ungroup. (See Figure 13.10)
1. The selected columns will be ungrouped, and the grouping bars will disappear, 

Grouping and Ungrouping Rows

Grouping and ungrouping rows works the same way. To group rows, use the following steps:

1. Select the rows you want to group.
2. Select the Data tab. 
3. Select Group. (See Figure 13.7)
1. The selected rows will be grouped, and a grouping bar will appear to the left. (See Figure 13.12)

To group rows in multiple layers, use the following steps:

1. Select five or six rows, including the already grouped rows. 
2. Select the Data tab. 
3. Select Group. (See Figure 13.7)
1. Excel will group these rows, and a second grouping bar will appear. (See Figure 13.13)

Just like with columns, you can expand and collapse these individually or as a full group using the numbers at the top. (See Figure 13.13)

With hiding, you right-click and select Hide and Unhide like the exercises before. Grouping can accomplish the same thing, but it gives you the options to quickly expand or collapse those groupings.