In Excel for Windows, save a copy, then go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document, leave the categories ticked, click Inspect, and click Remove All next to each result you want gone. Removing hidden rows, columns or sheets deletes them, so check formulas still work afterwards. Excel for Mac has no Document Inspector; turn on Excel > Preferences > Security > Remove personal information from this file on save, and delete comments and hidden sheets yourself.
What an Excel file keeps that you can't see
- Document properties: author, last saved by, company, manager, title and dates.
- Comments and notes, each with the name of whoever wrote it.
- Hidden rows, columns and sheets. Hidden isn't deleted: the data is all still there.
- Very hidden sheets, which don't appear in Excel's Unhide list but open in any other spreadsheet tool.
- Named ranges that can point at data you removed from view.
- Links to other files, whose paths often include a username or a server name.
- PivotTable caches. A PivotTable keeps a copy of its source data, so deleting the source sheet doesn't remove the numbers.
To see what your own workbook contains, drop it into the hidden sheet finder. It lists hidden and very hidden sheets by name, hidden rows and columns, and what's in them, and runs in your browser.
Windows: use Excel's Document Inspector
- Save a copy of the workbook. Removals can't always be undone.
- Open the copy and go to File > Info.
- Click Check for Issues > Inspect Document.
- Leave the categories ticked and click Inspect.
- Next to each result you want gone, click Remove All.
- Click Reinspect to confirm, then save.
Excel's inspector checks more than Word's. Besides comments and document properties, it looks for hidden rows and columns, hidden worksheets, hidden names, links to other files, PivotTables and their caches, custom XML data, headers and footers, and invisible objects.
Be careful with the hidden categories. Removing hidden rows, columns or worksheets deletes them, and any formula that refers to them breaks. If the visible numbers depend on a hidden sheet, either leave that category unticked or copy the values you need onto a visible sheet first.
Mac: remove personal information when you save
Excel for Mac doesn't have Document Inspector. Instead:
- Go to Excel > Preferences > Security.
- Tick Remove personal information from this file on save.
- Save the workbook.
That clears names from the file properties and comments. It doesn't touch the rest, so delete comments, unhide and remove sheets you don't want to send, and check for links to other files yourself.
What Document Inspector misses in Excel
- Very hidden sheets. Excel's own Unhide menu doesn't list them. Our document viewer does.
- White text or numbers formatted to be invisible (a custom format of
;;;hides a cell's value). - Data outside the print area, far to the right or below what you scrolled to.
- The file name and sheet names, which the recipient sees.
If you send spreadsheets often, the batch cleaner and the Pro document cleaner remove names, comments, custom properties and dates in your browser. They leave hidden sheets in place, because formulas may depend on them, and the report tells you which files have them so you can decide.