Lesson: Inserting and Deleting Rows & Columns in Microsoft Excel

1. Introduction

While working on a Student Report or any other Excel worksheet, sometimes we need to add new rows or columns or remove existing rows or columns.

Excel provides simple options to Insert and Delete rows and columns without creating the worksheet again.

In the provided Advanced Excel notes, inserting and deleting rows/columns is included as part of the Student Report practical work.

2. What is a Row?

A Row is a horizontal line of cells in an Excel worksheet.

Rows are identified by numbers:

1
2
3
4
5
...

Example:

Here, the first horizontal line is Row 1.

3. What is a Column?

A Column is a vertical line of cells in an Excel worksheet.

Columns are identified by letters:

A
B
C
D
E
...

Example:

Here:

• A = Name
• B = Marks
• C = Result

4. Inserting a Row

Inserting a row means adding a new horizontal row to the worksheet.

Example

Suppose the Student Report contains:

If we need to add another student between Rahul and Amit, we can insert a new row.

Before

Rahul
Amit
Priya

After inserting a row

Rahul
New Student
Amit
Priya

The existing data moves down to make space for the new row.

5. Basic Steps to Insert a Row

Select the Row
      ↓
Right-Click the Row Number
      ↓
Select Insert
      ↓
New Row is Added

The new row is inserted above the selected row.

6. Inserting a Column

Inserting a column means adding a new vertical column to the worksheet.

Example

Suppose the Student Report contains:

Now suppose we want to add a Percentage column between Marks and Result.

Before

After

The existing columns move to the right to create space.

7. Basic Steps to Insert a Column

Select the Column
      ↓
Right-Click the Column Letter
      ↓
Select Insert
      ↓
New Column is Added

The new column is inserted before the selected column.

8. Deleting a Row

Deleting a row means removing an existing horizontal row from the worksheet.

For example, if a student record is no longer required:

Before

Rahul
Amit
Priya

If Amit’s row is deleted:

After

Rahul
Priya

The row and its contents are removed from the worksheet.

9. Basic Steps to Delete a Row

Select the Row
      ↓
Right-Click the Row Number
      ↓
Select Delete
      ↓
Row is Removed

⚠️ Important

Deleting a row removes the data contained in that row. Therefore, make sure you have selected the correct row before deleting it.

10. Deleting a Column

Deleting a column means removing an existing vertical column from the worksheet.

Example

Suppose we have:

If the Percentage column is no longer required:

After deleting the column

The selected column and its contents are removed.

11. Basic Steps to Delete a Column

Select the Column
      ↓
Right-Click the Column Letter
      ↓
Select Delete
      ↓
Column is Removed

12. Insert vs Delete

13. Student Report Example

Suppose our Student Report has:

Adding a new subject

If we want to add Science, we can insert a new column:

This gives us space to enter the new subject.

14. Why Insert and Delete are Useful

These operations are useful when the structure of a worksheet needs to be changed.

Insert is useful when:

• A new student needs to be added.
• A new subject needs to be added.
• A new category needs to be included.
• Additional information needs to be entered.

Delete is useful when:

• An incorrect record needs to be removed.
• An unnecessary student record needs to be removed.
• An unwanted subject/column needs to be removed.
• Extra rows or columns are no longer required.

15. Quick Technical Chart

              EXCEL
                │
        ┌───────┴───────┐
        │               │
      INSERT           DELETE
        │               │
   ┌────┴────┐      ┌───┴────┐
   │         │      │        │
  Row      Column  Row     Column
   │         │      │        │
 Add       Add     Remove   Remove
horizontal vertical horizontal vertical
 space      space    data     data

16. Easy Memory Trick

INSERT = ADD

DELETE = REMOVE

And:

ROW    = Horizontal
COLUMN = Vertical

So remember:

Insert Row    → Add horizontal space
Insert Column → Add vertical space

Delete Row    → Remove horizontal data
Delete Column → Remove vertical data

17. Important Point for Student Reports

When inserting or deleting rows and columns in a Student Report, always check the complete structure of the report.

If a row containing a student’s complete record is deleted, the student’s information in that row will also be removed.

Similarly, deleting a column removes the information stored in that column.

⭐ One-Line Definitions

Insert Row: Adding a new horizontal row to the worksheet.

Insert Column: Adding a new vertical column to the worksheet.

Delete Row: Removing an existing horizontal row and its data.

Delete Column: Removing an existing vertical column and its data.

Quick Revision

INSERT → ADD
DELETE → REMOVE

ROW → Horizontal
COLUMN → Vertical

These operations are part of the Student Report practical covered in your provided Excel notes.