How to Unhide All Rows in Excel: Shortcuts & Fixes

Excel’s hidden-row problem strikes without warning — rows vanish from shared spreadsheets, filter hiccups, or accidental misclicks. The fix is simpler than most users realize: select the worksheet, then apply the unhide command through keyboard or ribbon. No Excel expertise required.

Primary Shortcut: Ctrl + A, then Ctrl + Shift + 9 · Ribbon Path: Home > Format > Hide & Unhide > Unhide Rows · Mac Equivalent: Cmd + A, then Cmd + Shift + 9

Across four distinct methods and two operating systems, Excel’s row-unhiding logic follows a consistent pattern: you must select the cells surrounding or including the hidden rows before the Unhide command becomes available.

These six approaches cover the range from fastest keyboard shortcuts to manual row-height resets, with platform-specific guidance for both Windows and Mac users.

How do I unhide all rows in an Excel spreadsheet?

The most reliable way to surface every hidden row in a worksheet is through the Format menu accessible from the Home tab. According to Excel tutorials from The Knowledge Academy, the process takes about three clicks once you know where to look.

Using the Ribbon Menu

• Click any cell in the worksheet to ensure Excel recognizes your selection context
• Navigate to the Home tab on the ribbon
• Locate the Format dropdown (in the Cells group)
• Choose Hide & Unhide → Unhide Rows

Select All and Right-Click

• Press Ctrl+A (or click the triangle at the upper-left corner of the worksheet) to select the entire sheet
• Right-click anywhere on the selected row numbers
• Select Unhide from the context menu

A Microsoft Learn community contributor notes that you don’t need to carefully click exactly between two rows — simply right-clicking any visible row header after selecting the sheet reveals the Unhide option.

Keyboard Selection

• Press Ctrl+A once to select the data range, then Ctrl+A again to ensure the entire sheet is selected
• Press Ctrl+Shift+9 to instantly unhide all rows

For most users, the ribbon method provides visual confirmation that the action is being applied, while the keyboard shortcut is faster once you’ve memorized it.

How to get all rows visible in Excel?

Visibility issues sometimes stem from collapsed row heights rather than hidden rows. When rows collapse to zero height, they appear as thin lines between visible rows. Right-click the row number, choose Row Height, and set it to 15 — the default Excel row height — to restore visibility. This distinction matters because standard Unhide commands don’t affect zero-height rows.

What is the shortcut key to unhide an entire row?

The keyboard shortcut is the fastest method once you’ve selected the worksheet, and it’s identical in logic whether you’re on Windows or Mac — just swap the Control key for Command on Apple devices.

Windows Shortcut

• Press Ctrl+A to select all cells in the worksheet
• Press Ctrl+Shift+9 to reveal every hidden row

The shortcut works because Ctrl+Shift+9 specifically targets rows in the current selection and removes any hide formatting applied to them.

Mac Shortcut

• Press Cmd+A to select all cells in the worksheet
• Press Cmd+Shift+9 to reveal every hidden row

YouTube tutorial creators specializing in Excel for Mac confirm that Command+Shift+9 behaves identically to its Windows counterpart, unhiding all rows regardless of how many were hidden.

Select All First

Hidden rows cannot be unhidden if they’re not included in your selection. Pressing Ctrl+A or Cmd+A twice guarantees the entire worksheet — including any hidden rows — is included in your selection before applying the unhide shortcut.

Why won’t Excel let me unhide rows?

When the Unhide option appears greyed out or the keyboard shortcut fails, the most common culprit is sheet protection. According to Xelplus, a popular Excel tutorial site, protected worksheets explicitly disable row formatting to prevent accidental or unauthorized changes.

Filters Applied

• Rows hidden by a filter don’t respond to standard unhide commands
• Press Ctrl+Shift+L to toggle filters off and reveal filtered rows
• Alternatively, go to the Data tab and select Clear to remove all active filters

Protected Sheet

• Check the ribbon for a yellow Review tab indicator
• If protection is active, click Unprotect Sheet in the Review tab
• Enter the password if one was set; otherwise the sheet unprotects immediately
• After unprotecting, apply your unhide method of choice

The Knowledge Academy notes that protection can be applied with or without password authentication — if you didn’t set a password, the sheet unprotected simply by clicking Unprotect Sheet.

Selection Issues

• If only a portion of the sheet is selected, hidden rows outside that selection won’t be affected
• Double-press Ctrl+A to ensure full worksheet selection
• Use the Name Box (the field to the left of the formula bar) and type 1:1048576 to select all rows explicitly

For top-row hiding where the row numbers are hidden along with the rows themselves, typing 1:3 or A1 in the Name Box selects the hidden rows, making the right-click Unhide option available.

Unhide rows in Excel not working?

When the standard methods fail, it’s usually because the hiding mechanism isn’t standard row hiding. Filters, merged cells, and row height collapses all require different approaches.

Common Fixes

• Filter check: Press Ctrl+Shift+L to see if filter icons appear in your header row — if they do, clear the filters
• Row height check: Right-click the row number, choose Row Height, and set it to 15 (the default Excel row height)
• Select all twice: Press Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+A again to guarantee full selection before right-clicking Unhide

Platform Differences

• On Mac, the Format menu sits in the same location as Windows but uses slightly different menu phrasing
• The Command+Shift+9 shortcut works identically on Mac Excel for Office 365 and older versions
• If Command+Shift+9 doesn’t work on Mac, verify that Function keys aren’t remapped through System Preferences

Advanced Troubleshooting

• Press Ctrl+G to open the Go To dialog, then click Special → Visible cells only to select around hidden rows
• Use Name Box to enter specific row ranges like 5:10 to target particular hidden sections
• Restart Excel if shortcuts seem unresponsive — cached settings can occasionally prevent commands from registering

How to unhide all rows in Excel Mac?

Excel for Mac operates almost identically to its Windows counterpart for unhiding rows, but the keyboard modifiers differ slightly. Command replaces Control in all shortcuts on Apple devices.

Mac-Specific Shortcuts

• Cmd+A selects the entire worksheet
• Cmd+Shift+9 reveals all hidden rows in one action
• To hide rows: Cmd+9 (mirror of the unhide shortcut)

Ribbon on Mac

• Click the Home tab on the ribbon
• Open the Format dropdown in the Cells group
• Select Hide & Unhide → Unhide Rows

The ribbon interface on Mac Excel mirrors Windows almost exactly, so Windows users adapting to Mac will find the same menu paths.

Protected Sheets on Mac

• Navigate to the Review tab on the ribbon
• Click Unprotect Sheet
• Enter the password if prompted
• Apply Cmd+Shift+9 or the ribbon method once protection is removed

Microsoft Learn’s community guidance confirms that the Review tab and Unprotect Sheet button exist in Mac Excel, functioning identically to Windows for unhiding operations.

Confirmed facts

• Ctrl+Shift+9 unhides all rows after Ctrl+A selection (verified by Xelplus, The Knowledge Academy, and Microsoft Learn)
• Cmd+Shift+9 works on Mac Excel identically (verified by YouTube tutorials)
• Protected sheets grey out Unhide unless the user has “Format rows” permission (verified by Xelplus)
• Rows hidden by filters require Ctrl+Shift+L to clear, not standard Unhide (verified by Xelplus)

What’s unclear

• Exact behavior on Excel versions prior to 2016 may vary with the Ctrl+Shift+9 shortcut
• The alternative Ctrl+Shift+( shortcut has limited third-party verification

“If the Hide and Unhide features are disabled (greyed out), check if the worksheet is protected.”

— Xelplus (Excel Tutorial Site)

“There is no need to carefully click in between the two rows.”

— Microsoft Learn Community Contributor

“Control plus shift and nine so I’ll type it over here too so it’s Control Plus button six Plus 9.”

— YouTube Tutorial Creator

For anyone regularly working with shared spreadsheets, learning both the ribbon method and the keyboard shortcut means you’re covered whether you’re at your desk or presenting on someone else’s computer. The three-second shortcut (Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Shift+9) becomes muscle memory surprisingly fast, and once it does, hidden rows will never catch you off guard again.

Related reading: How Many Cups in a Gallon? · 16 Out of 20 as a Percentage

If rows remain hidden due to protection, first learn to password protect Excel sheets then apply Ctrl+Shift+9 for instant results.

Frequently asked questions