As everyone knows, Excel is a huge platform used for calculations and other computational tasks. Worksheets are often used for the database to manage and keep records of different inventories and sales reports. Sometimes, Excel could be a confusing tool because it has so many features that you can almost perform any function.
It becomes confusing especially when you need to perform some elimination of data duplication. Working with huge projects definitely is a tiring thing, that’s why you need to become familiar with some basic as well as advanced features used to handle larger datasets. Excel remove duplicates in columns is a common query that most people ask. It is because nobody likes to have duplicate data in their worksheets. Duplication is often costly because it becomes painful when you cannot handle it.
The larger the dataset, the higher are the chances of having duplication data. Having duplicate data is painful but if you are unable to identify the duplicate entries it becomes a real headache.
How Excel Remove Duplicates in Columns using the Remove Duplicates Feature?
Do you have any idea about the shortcut of Excel remove duplicates in columns?
Here we will use a built-in command placed in the ribbon. Follow the steps for this shortcut:
- Go to the Excel Spreadsheet and choose any range in the spreadsheet that needed to remove duplicates.
- Click on the Data tab and choose the Remove duplicates option.
If the data isn’t selected, Excel let you expand the search option to the entire document. Click OK.
- When the data selection includes headers, check the column boxes. Here in the example, you will see the headers are added in the selection, that’s why you need to tick all the boxes. Click OK.
- You will be notified with a message asking you about the exact figure of duplicate entries when removed.
How Excel Remove Duplicates in Columns using Power Query Tool?
With the Power Query tool, you can import data from many sources to clean and transform the data. Using this tool, makes efforts worthy enough to remove duplicates in Excel.
- Choose a cell to locate the Data tab and click on the Get & Transform option.
- Click on the Table option.
- You will see a dialog box of Power Query. Click OK.
- The Power Query editor window will appear and you will find two options.
You can remove duplicates on the basis of:
- One or more columns
- Entire Table
Whether your data is based on one or more columns, you can remove duplicates by right-clicking the specific column header. With the CTRL key, you can select one or more columns to remove duplicates.
When you need to remove the duplicate records based on the entire table, choose the button placed on the upper left side of the data preview. Choose the “Remove Duplicates” option.
That’s it! your worksheet does not have any duplicate values.
All the data will be updated on the worksheet when you click on the “Close & Load” button.
Final Thoughts
Once your worksheet is free of duplicate data, you can now manage the data without any trouble of having repeated entries. Mentally, you will be relaxed because you know the sheet is clear of any unwanted values.
