Hide Empty Rows
Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Addin → Group View and Sheets → Menu Navigation Menu
Command ID: btnHideEmptyRows
What it does
Hides every row without data inside a range you pick. Unlike deleting blank rows, this only hides them — the data and formulas underneath stay intact, they are simply not displayed and not printed.
It fits pre-formatted templates with spare rows: a bill of quantities that leaves room for variations, an inspection form printed with 40 lines of which only 12 are used, a programme sheet with packages not yet started. Hiding the blanks gives a tight printout with no white gaps.
How to use
- Go to tab DVD Addin → group View and Sheets → Navigation Menu → Hide Empty Rows.
- Excel's range picker appears with the prompt "Select data range".
- Drag-select the range to scan — pick the columns that actually hold data, for example
B10:H250. Hold Ctrl to pick several separate areas. - Click OK (or Cancel to exit without changes).
- Every row whose cells are all empty within that range is hidden, then a message reports "Hid N blank rows." — or "No blank rows." if none were found.
Example
A finishing-works take-off printed from a template runs from row 12 to row 180, with 47 rows left blank for future variations:
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Rows 12–180 all shown, printing over 5 pages full of gaps | Only the 133 rows with data shown, printing as 3 continuous pages |
Run the command, select B12:H180, and exactly 47 rows are hidden — the printout is continuous and nothing is deleted, so a new work item can be added later by simply unhiding.
Notes
- "Empty" is judged only within the columns you selected; a row with data in a column outside the range still counts as empty and gets hidden.
- A cell holding a formula that returns an empty string
""still counts as having data, so that row is not hidden. - The command hides the entire row across the sheet, not just the selected range.
- Hold ESC to stop partway; rows already hidden stay hidden.
- It cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z. To bring rows back, select the surrounding rows and use Home → Format → Unhide Rows.
Related
- Delete Blank Rows — remove them permanently when you are sure they are not needed.
- Delete Hidden Rows — clear out the rows you just hid to finalise the table.
- Select Visible — select only what remains on screen after hiding.
- Copy/Paste Visible — copy the trimmed table somewhere else.