How do you move an entire column in excel?

The best way for us to show you how to do this is through an example. Suppose we have the following simple spreadsheet with the firstname, city, and zipcode:

Now, suppose we want to move the “firstname” column in between the city and zipcode columns. How can we easily do this?

Well, the first thing we need to do is insert a column wherever we want to move the firstname column to. In order to do this, we just click on any cell in column C, and then in the top menu we go to Insert->Columns, and this is what the spreadsheet looks like afterwards with the new column in between city and zipcode:

Now, we highlight column A and hover on the right edge of column A until we get
the hand symbol as shown below:

The hand means that we can now drag the firstname column and put it wherever we like. All you have to do once the hand symbol appears is hold the mouse button down and drag the firstname column. Clearly, we want to drag the firstname column to column C, and this is the result of that action:

As you can see, we successfully moved the firstname column so that it is now in between the city and zipcode columns.

Summary of steps needed to move an entire column in excel

  • First, insert a column wherever you want to move the column to.
  • Second, select the column you would like to move. Hover over the right edge of that selected column until you see a hand symbol. Hold the mouse down and drag the column to wherever you would like to move it. Release the mouse once you want to release the column. That’s it – your column should have been successfully moved now!

Hiring? Job Hunting? Post a JOB or your RESUME on our JOB BOARD >>

Subscribe to our newsletter for more free interview questions.