4 Methods to remove strikethrough in MS Excel:
- Use a keyboard shortcut
- Use the Home tab
- Use the right-click menu
- Remove conditional strikethrough in MS Excel using the Clear Rules option
Let us begin.
Method #1: Use a Keyboard Shortcut
This is one of the easiest and quickest methods to remove a strikethrough in MS Excel.
Step #1: Open your Excel workbook
Open your workbook or create a new one if you don’t have an existing workbook.
Step #2: Select a cell
Select the cell in which you want to remove the strikethrough format from the text.
You can confirm your choice in the Name box. In our example, we selected A1.
Step #3: Remove the strikethrough using the shortcut key
Press Ctrl on your keyboard and also 5 at the same time if you use Windows.
For Mac, use ⌘ + SHIFT + X to remove the strikethrough.
Once you do that, the cell will not show the strikethrough formatting.
Method #2: Use the Home Tab
Knowing what is where in your ribbons will allow you to work with ease. This method uses the normal ribbons to access the required commands.
Step #1: Open your Excel workbook
Open an existing worksheet or create a new one if you don’t have an existing workbook.
Step #2: Select a cell or a range of cells
To remove the strikethrough, select that cell. If it’s a range of cells, just drag your cursor across it and select all of them.
Step #3: Open font settings
Click on the Home tab in the top menu bar to change the ribbon.
Go to the Font section and click on the extend icon, which is a small arrow in the bottom right corner of that section, as shown below.
Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + F or Ctrl + 1.
Step #4: Uncheck the strikethrough checkbox
You’ll now see the Format Cells dialog box.
Select the Font tab.
Under the Effects section, you can see a Strikethrough checkbox.
Uncheck the box.
Click the OK button.
Now, you can see that the strikethrough formatting from cells A2 and A3 has been removed.
Method #3: Use the Right-Click Menu
While shortcut keys and the main menu are always good to know and use, sometimes a simple right click can let you access the most popular commands.
Step #1: Open your Excel workbook
Open an existing worksheet or create a new one if you don’t have an existing workbook.
Step #2: Select a cell or a range of cells
To remove the strikethrough, select that cell. If it’s a range of cells, just drag your cursor across it and select all of them.
Confirm your choice using the Name box. In our example, it’s cell A9.
Step #3: Right-click
Right-click on the cell and you will see a new list of options.
Select Format Cells…
This opens up the Format Cells dialog box.
Step #4: Uncheck the strikethrough checkbox
Select the Font tab.
Under the Effects section, you can see a Strikethrough checkbox.
Uncheck the box.
Click the OK button.
This would remove the strikethrough formatting from the selected cell.
Method #4: Remove Conditional Strikethrough in MS Excel Using the Clear Rules Option
If none of the above methods work, it’s probably because the cell is conditionally formatted that way. In this particular example, you can’t remove the strikethrough in cells A6 and A11 because it’s formatted that way. You can use this method if the above ones don’t work.
Step #1: Select the range of cells
Drag your cursor across the required range of cells.
Step #2: Select Clear Rules
Click on the Home tab in the top menu bar to change the ribbon.
Click on the Conditional Formatting icon to get to the dropdown menu.
Move your mouse over Clear Rules and from the menu that opens, select Clear Rules from Selected Cells.
Any conditional formatting will be removed.
In our example, all duplicate entries were formatted as strikethrough.
Since the rule is no longer in effect, cells A6 and A11 are not formatted anymore.
Conclusion
No more struggling to remove the strikethrough formatting in your MS Excel worksheet. You can use methods #1 through #3 to remove strikethrough from your cells in seconds. And if that doesn’t work, then method #4 will resolve the formatting issue.
We have also written a post that explains how to strikethrough text in MS Excel.