Identifying and deleting duplicate data in Excel may be necessary to ensure organization, understanding, and accurate analysis of information in complex spreadsheets. Therefore, Microsoft software has a simple function to help with this task and avoid unnecessary manual efforts.
What does it mean to delete duplicate data?
Deleting duplicate data from Excel means removing all repeated occurrences in columns, keeping only the unique values. The process is quite simple: with the help of Excel’s conditional formatting tool, it is possible to find and highlight duplicate data in columns.
How to Find and Remove Duplicate Data in Excel
See how to do it:
- Open a data sheet in Excel;
- Select cells in a column;
- Click on the “Home” tab;
- Select “Conditional Formatting”;
- Find the option “Highlight Cell Rules” and click on “Duplicate Values”;
- Under “Rule Type”, open the checkbox and choose the formatting you want for duplicate values;
- Click “Done”.
When you find duplicate data, you can review the information and decide if you want to remove it from the worksheet.
How to copy column data
Before deleting the duplicates, you can make a copy of the original data in another worksheet. Thus, it is possible to prevent the loss of important information. Look:
- Select a cell or range of cells on a worksheet;
- Click “Page” and “Cut” or press the keys Ctrl + X.
- Choose a cell you want to move data into.
- Click “Page” and “Paste” or press the keys Ctrl +V.
If you want to improve your spreadsheet management skills, here are 15 tips for using Excel.
