Cleaning Up Your Sheet. How to Remove Blank Rows in Google Sheets

I will show you methods for manually deleting empty rows in Google Sheets, as well as how to automate the process using Google Apps Script.

Using Google Apps Script to Remove Blank Rows

If you have a large dataset or need to regularly clean up your Google Sheets, you can save time by using Google Apps Script. Here's an example of a script that automatically removes blank rows:

Open your Google Sheets document.
Click on Extensions in the menu bar, select Apps Script, and this will open a new script editor.
Replace any existing code in the script editor with the following code:

function removeBlankRows() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
  var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();
  var newData = [];

  data.forEach(function(row) {
    if (row.join("").trim() !== "") {
      newData.push(row);
    }
  });

  sheet.clearContents();
  sheet.getRange(1, 1, newData.length, newData[0].length).setValues(newData);
}

Save the script by clicking on the floppy disk icon or pressing Ctrl + S.
Close the script editor and return to your Google Sheets document.
To run the script, click on Extensions in the menu bar, select Apps Script, and then removeBlankRows. A pop-up window may appear asking for authorization, so make sure to grant the necessary permissions.

Once the script finishes running, all the blank rows will be removed from your sheet automatically.

Manual Method to Remove Blank Rows in Google Sheets

To clean up your Google Sheets and remove any blank rows, you can follow these simple steps:

Open your Google Sheets document.
Identify the range of cells where you want to remove the blank rows. You can select a specific range by clicking and dragging your mouse over the cells. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + A to select the entire sheet.
Once you have selected the range, go to the menu bar and click on Data.
From the drop-down menu, select Filter. This will add a filter to your sheet.
Click on the small dropdown arrow in the header row of the column where you suspect there might be blank rows. This will open a filter menu.
In the filter menu, uncheck the box next to (Blanks). This will hide all the blank rows, leaving only the rows with data visible.
Now, select all the visible rows. You can do this by clicking and dragging your mouse over the rows or by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow to select all the visible rows at once.
With the rows selected, right-click on any of the selected row numbers and choose Delete rows X-X. Replace X with the actual row numbers.
Click on the Data menu again and select Turn off filter to remove the filter from your sheet.

By following these steps, you can manually remove blank rows in Google Sheets.

Use Case Examples

Here are a few scenarios where removing blank rows in Google Sheets can be useful:

Data entry: When manually entering data into a Google Sheets document, blank rows can be created accidentally. Removing these rows helps maintain a clean and organized dataset.
Data analysis: If you're analyzing a large dataset, removing blank rows can help eliminate any gaps in the data, ensuring accurate analysis results.
Data exports: When exporting data from other applications into Google Sheets, blank rows might be included. Removing these rows helps in standardizing the data for further processing.
Filtering and sorting: Blank rows can interfere with filtering and sorting functions in Google Sheets. By removing them, you can have better control over data filtering and sorting operations.

By utilizing the manual method or the Google Apps Script, you can easily remove blank rows and improve the quality and usability of your Google Sheets documents.

Deleting empty rows in Google Sheets can be done by following these steps.
If you want to remove blank rows in Google Sheets, you can use this method.
Deleting rows in Google Sheets is quite simple and can be done with a few clicks.
To delete duplicates in Google Sheets, you can use the built-in tools or formulas.
If you need to identify duplicates in Google Sheets, you can use this function to make it easier.

Published 20 Jul 2023