Delete Every Other Row In Excel

Deleting every other row in Excel can be a useful task when you need to remove alternating rows from a dataset. This can be particularly helpful for organizing data, creating summaries, or preparing data for analysis. Excel provides several methods to accomplish this task, ranging from manual selection and deletion to using formulas and macros for more automated approaches. Here's how you can delete every other row in Excel using different methods:

Method 1: Manual Selection and Deletion

1. Select the Rows: To manually select every other row, you can hold down the Ctrl key and click on the row numbers to select them. This method can be tedious for large datasets but works well for small ones.
2. Delete the Rows: Once the rows are selected, right-click on the selection and choose Delete or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl - (minus sign) to remove the selected rows.

Method 2: Using Filters

1. Insert a Column: Insert a new column next to your data. In this column, you will create a formula to identify every other row.
2. Formula: In the first cell of the new column (let's say it's column B and your data starts from row 1), enter the formula =MOD(ROW(),2)=0 for deleting even rows or =MOD(ROW(),2)=1 for deleting odd rows. Drag this formula down to fill the rest of the cells in the column.
3. Filter: Select your data range (including the new column), go to the Data tab, and click on Filter.
4. Apply Filter: Click on the filter dropdown in the new column and select either TRUE (to keep even rows and delete odd ones) or FALSE (to keep odd rows and delete even ones).
5. Delete Rows: Select the filtered rows (holding Ctrl and selecting the visible row headers while the filter is applied might not work directly, so it's easier to use the Go To Special feature). Go to Home > Find & Select > Go To Special, choose Visible cells only, and then press Ctrl + -' (minus sign in the numeric keypad) to delete the rows.

Method 3: Using VBA Macro

For those comfortable with VBA, you can create a macro to delete every other row.

1. Open VBA Editor: Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA Editor.
2. Insert Module: In the VBA Editor, right-click on any of the objects for your workbook listed in the left-hand window. Choose Insert > Module to insert a new module.
3. Paste Macro: Paste the following VBA code into the module window:

Sub DeleteEveryOtherRow()
    Dim i As Long
    For i = Cells(Rows.Count, "A").End(xlUp).Row To 2 Step -1
        If i Mod 2 = 0 Then Rows(i).Delete
    Next i
End Sub

This macro deletes every other row starting from the last row of data in column A, working its way up, and skipping every other row.

4. Run Macro: Press F5 while in the VBA editor with the module code window active, or close the VBA editor and run the macro from Excel's Developer tab > Macros.

Method 4: Using Power Query

If you're using Excel 2010 or later, Power Query (now known as Get & Transform Data) can also be used to achieve this.

1. Load Data into Power Query: Select your data range and go to the Data tab. Click on From Table/Range to load your data into Power Query.
2. Add Index Column: In the Power Query Editor, go to the Add Column tab and click on Index Column. This will add a column starting from 0.
3. Filter: Click on the filter dropdown in the new Index column and select Keep Rows > Keep Top Rows is not what you want, instead, you can use the Filter button to filter out rows where the index is odd or even.
4. Remove Columns: If you added any helper columns, you can remove them by selecting the column and clicking Remove Columns.
5. Load: Click Close & Load to load the filtered data back into Excel.

Each of these methods has its use cases depending on the size of your dataset, your familiarity with Excel and VBA, and whether you need to perform this task regularly. For one-time tasks with small datasets, manual selection or using filters might be sufficient. For larger datasets or repetitive tasks, using VBA or Power Query might be more efficient.