How to Clear Formatting in Microsoft Excel

Formatting is one of Excel’s most powerful features. It allows users to visually organize data using colors, fonts, borders, number formats, conditional rules, and styles. However, excessive or inconsistent formatting can quickly turn a worksheet into a confusing mess. This is where clearing formatting becomes an essential skill.

Knowing how to properly clear formatting in Excel helps you reset cells, fix display issues, standardize worksheets, and prepare data for reuse or analysis. In this article, you will learn what clearing formatting means, when to use it, and the multiple ways Excel allows you to remove formatting efficiently, from basic tools to advanced techniques.

What Does “Clear Formatting” Mean in Excel?

Clearing formatting in Excel removes visual and structural formatting elements from cells while keeping the underlying data intact. This includes:

• Font styles (bold, italic, font type, font size)
• Font colors and fill colors
• Borders
• Alignment settings
• Text wrapping
• Number formats (currency, percentage, date, custom formats)
• Conditional formatting rules
• Cell styles and table formatting

Importantly, clearing formatting does not delete the values or formulas in the cells unless you specifically choose to clear everything.

Why Clearing Formatting Is Important

Before diving into the “how,” it’s helpful to understand why clearing formatting matters in everyday Excel work.

1. Fixing Inconsistent Appearance

When data is copied from multiple sources—emails, websites, PDFs, or other spreadsheets—it often brings unwanted formatting. Clearing formatting ensures consistency across your worksheet.

2. Improving Readability

Overuse of colors, fonts, and borders can distract users. Clearing formatting allows you to start fresh with a clean, professional layout.

3. Preparing Data for Analysis

Formatting can interfere with sorting, filtering, and data validation. Clearing formatting helps ensure clean datasets for analysis, charts, or pivot tables.

4. Reducing File Size and Complexity

Heavy formatting, especially conditional formatting, can slow down Excel files. Removing unnecessary formatting improves performance.

Understanding Excel’s Clear Options

Excel provides several “clear” commands, each serving a different purpose. These options are found under the Clear menu in the Home tab.

Clear All

Removes everything:

• Values
• Formulas
• Formatting
• Comments
• Hyperlinks

This is the most destructive option and should be used carefully.

Clear Formats

Removes only formatting, leaving:

• Values
• Formulas
• Comments intact

This is the option you will use most often.

Clear Contents

Removes:

• Values and formulas

But keeps formatting.

Clear Comments and Clear Hyperlinks

Removes only those specific elements.

For formatting purposes, Clear Formats is the safest and most targeted choice.

Method 1: Clear Formatting Using the Ribbon (Most Common Method)

This is the simplest and most widely used approach.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Select the cell or range of cells you want to reset
2. Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon
3. In the Editing group, click Clear (eraser icon)
4. Choose Clear Formats

Excel immediately removes all formatting from the selected cells, returning them to the default appearance.

When to Use This Method

• Quick cleanup of copied data
• Resetting a small section of a worksheet
• Beginner-friendly formatting control

Method 2: Clear Formatting Using Right-Click Options

Excel also allows formatting removal through context menus.

Steps

1. Select the cells
2. Right-click on the selection
3. Choose Clear Contents (note: this removes data, not formatting)

Since the right-click menu does not directly offer “Clear Formats,” this method is limited unless combined with other tools. For formatting-specific tasks, the Ribbon method is preferable.

Method 3: Clear Formatting with Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can speed up repetitive formatting cleanup.

Ribbon Shortcut Method

1. Select the cells

2. Press:

   • Alt + H + E + F

This sequence opens the Home tab, activates Clear, and selects Clear Formats.

Why Use Shortcuts

• Faster for power users
• Ideal for repetitive cleanup tasks
• Reduces reliance on mouse navigation

Method 4: Clearing Formatting Using Paste Special

Paste Special is extremely useful when dealing with copied data.

Scenario: Pasting Values Without Formatting

1. Copy the formatted cells
2. Select the destination cells
3. Right-click and choose Paste Special
4. Select Values

This pastes only the data, effectively removing all formatting.

Alternative Paste Options

• Values & Number Formatting (keeps number formats only)
• Values & Source Formatting (not suitable for clearing formats)

Paste Special is especially useful when importing data from external sources.

Method 5: Clear Formatting from an Entire Worksheet

Sometimes formatting issues affect the entire sheet.

Steps

1. Select the entire worksheet by clicking the triangle at the top-left corner (between row numbers and column letters)
2. Go to Home → Clear → Clear Formats

This removes all formatting from the worksheet while keeping data intact.

Use With Caution

• Removes table styles
• Removes conditional formatting
• Resets all columns and rows to default formatting

Method 6: Clear Formatting from Rows or Columns

You can also clear formatting from specific rows or columns.

Steps

1. Click the row number or column letter to select it
2. Go to Home → Clear → Clear Formats

This is useful when:

• A single column has inconsistent formatting
• Imported data affects only certain rows

Clearing Conditional Formatting (A Special Case)

Conditional formatting is not always removed when users expect it to be.

How to Remove Conditional Formatting

1. Select the affected cells

2. Go to Home → Conditional Formatting

3. Click Clear Rules

4. Choose:

   • Clear Rules from Selected Cells
   • Clear Rules from Entire Sheet

Why This Matters

Conditional formatting rules can override manual formatting, causing confusion when changes don’t appear to apply.

Method 7: Clearing Formatting from Tables

Excel tables apply automatic formatting.

To Remove Table Formatting

1. Click anywhere inside the table
2. Go to the Table Design tab
3. Choose Convert to Range (optional)
4. Use Clear Formats if needed

Alternatively, you can select a plain table style from the Table Styles gallery.

Method 8: Clear Formatting Using Styles

Excel’s Cell Styles feature allows consistent formatting—but it can also cause issues.

Reset to Normal Style

1. Select the cells
2. Go to Home → Cell Styles
3. Choose Normal

This resets formatting to Excel’s default style.

Common Mistakes When Clearing Formatting

Mistake 1: Using “Clear All” Accidentally

This deletes data, not just formatting. Always double-check which Clear option you choose.

Mistake 2: Forgetting Conditional Formatting

Data may still appear formatted due to hidden conditional rules.

Mistake 3: Clearing Only Visible Cells

Merged cells or hidden rows may still retain formatting.

Mistake 4: Not Checking Number Formats

Clearing formats also removes currency, percentage, and date formats, which may change how values display.

Best Practices for Managing Formatting

• Use formatting sparingly and consistently
• Apply styles instead of manual formatting where possible
• Clear formatting before applying new formatting
• Avoid copying entire cells when only values are needed
• Regularly review conditional formatting rules

When Should You Clear Formatting?

You should consider clearing formatting when:

• Preparing raw data for analysis
• Creating templates
• Fixing display inconsistencies
• Combining data from multiple sources
• Troubleshooting strange Excel behavior

Conclusion

Clearing formatting in Excel is a simple but powerful skill that helps maintain clean, professional, and functional worksheets. Whether you are fixing copied data, standardizing reports, or preparing datasets for analysis, understanding the different ways to remove formatting gives you greater control over your spreadsheets.

Excel offers multiple methods—from the Clear Formats command and Paste Special to conditional formatting tools and styles—ensuring that users at every skill level can reset formatting efficiently. By using the correct method for the task at hand, you can avoid common mistakes, improve workbook performance, and keep your data easy to read and manage.

Mastering formatting also means knowing when to remove it, and clearing formatting is an essential step toward becoming truly proficient in Microsoft Excel.