In Excel, there are many times when you need to reorganize your data to make it more readable or make it suit your particular needs. Whether it’s for presentation, reporting, or data analysis, rearranging data is a fundamental skill that every Excel user will need to learn at one point or another. However, the way you move data around can really impact the efficiency of the process, as well as the final result.
Typically, when you want to move data from one place to another, you may highlight the data in question and simply copy and paste it to a different location. While this definitely works, it can get tedious. Moreover, you may run into some very big formatting issues. Fortunately, moving entire columns is not as complicated or as daunting as it may seem.
So, if you have never moved columns in Excel before, you probably have a lot of questions. For instance, is it possible to drag columns from one place to another? What are the best ways to move columns around in Excel? Finally, can you switch columns to rows?
In today’s guide, we’ll answer all of these questions and teach you how to swap columns around in Excel. And remember, if you need additional help with Excel, you can always reach out to the trained IT experts at Geeker. Now let’s get started!
How To Move Columns By Dragging
If you’ve spent any time using Excel, there’s a good chance that you’ve dragged and dropped data or even entire rows. However, dragging columns takes a little more nuance (and maybe even practice. Nonetheless, dragging columns is probably the most straightforward way to move them from one place in your spreadsheet to another. Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
- Select the Column – Click on the column header of the column you want to move. If you need to move multiple columns at once, click and drag across more than one column header. You can also hold down the CTRL key while clicking on columns that are not adjacent to one another.
- Prepare to Drag – Hover your cursor over the edge of the highlighted column header. This will change your cursor to a four-sided arrow.
- Drag the Column – Click and hold the left mouse button, and then drag the column to the desired location. As you drag, you’ll see a faint outline of the column and an arrow indicating where the column will be placed.
- Release the Mouse Button – Once you have the column in the correct position, release the mouse button to drop the column into its new location.
Keep in mind that this method will require you to be steady as you move the columns around and ensure that you have them in the right place before you release the mouse button. If you release the button too early, you could end up with a jumbled spreadsheet. Thankfully, this can be easily remedied with the Undo command, but it’s still important to understand that dragging columns could result in more mistakes.
How To Move Columns By Cutting & Inserting
If you want to have a bit more control over where your columns go, the “cut and insert” method is probably the way to go. It is also a good way to ensure that nothing is accidentally overwritten during the move. To move columns by cutting and inserting, you just need to follow these steps:
- Select the Column – Click on the column header of the column you want to move. If you need to move multiple columns at once, click and drag across more than one column header. You can also hold down the CTRL key while clicking on columns that are not adjacent to one another.
- Cut the Column – Right-click on the selected column header and choose “Cut” from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can use the hotkey command CTRL + X.
- Choose the Destination – Click on the column header where you want to insert the cut column. When inserting, the data will be replaced to the left of the column you select. For example, if you select Column B and paste, your data will occupy columns B, C, D, and so on, pushing existing column B and subsequent columns to the right.
- Insert the Cut Column – Right-click on the common header where you want to data to be moved to. Hover over the “Insert Cut Cells” option from the context menu (this option only appears after cutting cells; it won’t show up if you’ve copied cells). Click on “Insert Cut Cells” from the submenu.
This is the preferred method for anyone who doesn’t want to accidentally overwrite important data. Since existing columns are simply pushed to the right, you can rest easy knowing that you still have all of the same data you had before the change, albeit in a different location. Just keep in mind that the new arrangement of columns may get confusing and you might even need to do multiple moves before everything is in the correct place.
How To Move Columns Into Rows
One of the more complex ways to move columns into shift or “transpose” them into rows. This essentially means that you’re taking all of the data in a column and rotating it so that it turns into a row. Since this can substantially change the layout of your spreadsheet, it’s only recommended to transpose columns into rows if you know exactly where you want the new data to go. In order to move columns into rows, follow the steps below:
- Select the Column – Click on the column header of the column you want to move. If you need to move multiple columns at once, click and drag across more than one column header. You can also hold down the CTRL key while clicking on columns that are not adjacent to one another.
- Copy the Column Data – Right-click on the selected columns and click “Copy” from the menu. Alternatively, you can use the hotkey CTRL + C.
- Choose the Destination – Click on the cell where you want to place the top-left corner of the transposed data. This step is particularly important, as you’ll need to think about the top of the column as the far left side of the row.
- Transpose with Paste Special – Right-click on the selected cell. Hover over the “Paste Special” option in the menu to bring up the submenu. In the submenu, click on “Transpose.” Click away from the menu to complete the paste operation.
- (Optional) Remove Original Data – If you do not need the data in the original column after transposing it to a row, you can select the column header and press the “Delete” key. Alternatively, you can right-click on the header and choose “Delete.”
As you can see, there are a number of different ways to move columns around in Excel. Which method you choose comes down to your needs and what you feel comfortable doing. Thankfully, moving columns in Excel is not very difficult and doesn’t take a lot of time to learn. Once you start, you’ll find that you can get the hang of it in no time!
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