How to Group Rows And Columns In Google Sheets

When you have a lot of data on your hands in a large Google sheet, sorting the data in groups can help you get a more organized and concise document.

Creating a group of data in Google Sheets can be done by grouping rows and columns.

With this method, users can group sufficient data and create a document that is much easier to read, then ungroup it with just one click when they need the hidden data again.

The feature for group rows and columns is not new, but it can be tricky for users unfamiliar with Google Sheets.

So, to understand the feature better and learn how to group rows and columns, keep on reading.

Additionally, if you are a frequent Google Sheets user you might find helpful our article about how to insert Google Sheets special characters.

How to group rows in Google Sheets

1. To group a row in Google Sheets first select the rows that you want to group by dragging the cursor.
2. Next, right-click on the selected rows and click on ‘View more row action’. Then select the option that says group [the row number]. In our case, we chose to make a group from the third to the seventh row.

3. You will see a gray square with a minus sign that will hide the data that you have grouped when you click it.

This way the spreadsheet shows only the ungrouped data, and you will see a gray square with a plus sign.

Note: can also use ALT+SHIFT keyboard shortcuts if you are looking for a faster way to group rows.

You might be also interested in reading how to unhide rows in Google Sheets.

To ungroup rows, first click on the gray square with the plus sign. The row groups will be selected by default. Right-click on the group, choose View more row actions, select ungroup 3-7.

That’s it!

This is how Google Sheets group rows feature works.

How to group columns in Google Sheets

1. To group a column in Google Sheets, first, select the column that you want to group by dragging the cursor.
2. Next, right-click on the selected columns and click on ‘View more row action’. Then select the option that says group [the column letter]. In our example, we are grouping columns from A-C.

3. You will see a gray square with a minus sign that will hide the data that you have grouped when you click it.

To ungroup columns first click on the gray square with the plus sign. The column rows will be selected by default. Right-click on the groups, choose View more row actions, select ungroup A-C.

How to add multiple layers of grouping

In case you want to create multiple layers of groups you can do so by following the steps below.

1. Select the multiple groups on which you want to add a second layer.
2. Right-click the rows or columns, select ‘View more rows actions’ and click on the group [the number of rows].

When you click on the gray square, the columns and rows will expand and collapse as they do with just one layer.

If you are interested in learning more about Google Sheets, check out our guide on how to indent text in Google Sheets.