Whether you’re a business owner or just someone who likes to keep their worksheet organized, learning how to interchange columns in Excel can be a valuable skill.
After all, who wants to spend their time manually moving data around when they could be using that time to do something else? Luckily, it’s easy to learn how to interchange columns in Excel, and once you know how, it’ll be a breeze to do whenever you need to.
Therefore, in this article, we’re going to show you a step-by-step guide on how to do it just the right way, so without any further ado, let’s get started!
What are columns and why would you want to interchange them
Columns in Excel are the vertical cells that run down the spreadsheet. Each column is identified by a letter, with column A being the first column on the left, column B being the second column over, and so on.
You might want to interchange columns in Excel for a number of reasons. For instance, if you have a list of names in one column and a list of addresses in another, you might want to switch them so that the names and addresses are listed side-by-side.
Or, you might simply prefer the look of a particular layout and want to rearrange your columns to achieve it.
Whatever your reasons, knowing how to interchange columns in Excel is a handy skill to have.
How to interchange columns in excel – A Detailed Guide
There are 2 different ways that you can opt to interchange columns in Excel, and we’re going to go over all of them in this section.
Method 1: Use the “Cut and Paste” command
This is probably the easiest way to interchange columns in Excel. To use this method, simply follow these steps:
- Select the column that you want to move.
- Right-click on it and select “Cut” from the drop-down menu, or press “Ctrl+X” on your keyboard.
- Right-click on the column where you want to move the cut column and select “Paste” from the drop-down menu, or press “Ctrl+V” on your keyboard.
- Your column should now be in its new location!
Method 2: Using the “SHIFT and Drag” Method
If you want to move a column but don’t want to cut and paste it, you can also use the “Shift and Drag” method. To do this, simply follow these steps:
- Select the column that you want to move.
- Place your cursor on the edge of the column until you see a four-headed arrow.
- Click and hold down your mouse button, then drag the column to its new location.
- Release the mouse button and your column will be in its new spot!
Verdict
Well there you have it, everything you need to know about interchanging the columns in Excel. As you can see, it’s a pretty simple process that just requires a few clicks of the mouse.
So next time you’re working on a spreadsheet and you need to mix things up a bit, don’t be afraid to try out this technique. Who knows, you might just find that it comes in handy more often than you thought.
