How to Unhide Row Excel 2013: Step-by-Step Guide

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Looking for a quick way to unhide row Excel 2013 without guesswork or endless trial-and-error? You’re in the right place. In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide we’ll show you every practical method to reveal hidden rows in Excel 2013 — from the built-in menu commands and keyboard shortcuts to Go To, row-height fixes, filters, grouping, and a short VBA script for power users. We’ll also troubleshoot the common reasons rows stay hidden and give you best practices to avoid the problem in the future.

Why rows get hidden in Excel 2013

Hidden rows happen for a few common reasons:

  • Someone manually hid the row (Format → Hide & Unhide → Hide Rows).

  • Row height was set to 0 (looks hidden).

  • A filter or table is hiding rows that don’t match criteria.

  • Rows were grouped (outline) and collapsed.

  • Worksheet protection prevents unhide operations.

  • Copying from other workbooks sometimes collapses or hides rows unintentionally.

Understanding the cause helps you pick the right recovery method.

2. Quick overview: Which method should I use?

  • If you know the row number: use the right-click → Unhide or the Name Box.

  • If many adjacent rows are hidden: select the surrounding rows and Unhide.

  • If rows are zero height: set Row Height manually.

  • If filters are active: clear filters or adjust them.

  • If rows are grouped: click the + to expand or use Ungroup.

  • If sheet is protected: unprotect the sheet first (password if needed).

  • If you want to unhide everything: use the VBA one-liner or select all → Row Height.

3. How to unhide a single row (fastest method)

Use this when you know the exact row number (for example row 10).

  1. Click the row header for the row above the hidden row (row 9).

  2. Hold Shift and click the row header for the row below (row 11). Now rows 9–11 are selected.

  3. Right-click the selected area and choose Unhide.

Alternative (menu):

  1. Select rows 9–11.

  2. Go to Home → Cells group → Format → Hide & Unhide → Unhide Rows.

Keyboard alternative:

  1. Select surrounding rows.

  2. Press Ctrl + Shift + 9 (this is the standard Excel shortcut to unhide rows).

4. How to unhide multiple adjacent rows

If rows 20–40 are hidden:

  1. Select the row headers for the row just above and just below the hidden block (19 and 41).

  2. Right-click → Unhide.

  3. Or: select rows 19–41 and press Ctrl + Shift + 9.

Tip: clicking and dragging across row headers from 19 to 41 also selects the block; then Unhide works the same.

5. How to unhide non-adjacent (scattered) rows

When hidden rows are scattered (e.g., rows 5, 11 and 23):

  1. Use the Name Box (see next section) OR

  2. Use Go To (Ctrl + G), enter the reference for the first hidden row (e.g., 5:5), click OK, unhide; repeat for each row.

  3. If there are many, consider the VBA method to unhide all rows in the sheet.

6. Use the Name Box to unhide rows by reference

The Name Box (top-left, left of the formula bar) lets you jump exactly to rows.

Steps:

  1. Click the Name Box.

  2. Type the row reference you want to select, for example 10:10 and press Enter.

  3. Right-click the selected row header and choose Unhide.

  4. To select multiple specific rows: type 5:5,11:11,23:23 and press Enter (Excel will select them all). Then right-click → Unhide.

This is great when you have specific row numbers.

7. Unhide rows using the Format → Hide & Unhide menu

Classic Excel menu method:

  1. Select the rows around the hidden area (or select whole sheet – see unhide all).

  2. Go to Home → Cells → Format.

  3. Under Visibility, choose Hide & Unhide → Unhide Rows.

This method is convenient when you prefer the ribbon UI.

8. Unhide rows when row height = 0 (zero height rows)

Sometimes rows aren’t technically “hidden” — they have a height of 0.

How to detect & fix:

  1. Select the rows above and below the suspect area.

  2. Right-click and choose Row Height…

  3. If it shows 0 or a very small number, set it to a normal value like 15 (default) and click OK.

Alternative: Select the rows, then Home → Format → Row Height, enter 15, press OK.

9. Unhide rows hidden by filters or tables

If AutoFilter is applied, rows not matching the filter are hidden (not the same as manually hidden).

How to check & fix:

  1. Look for filter arrows in the header row.

  2. Go to Data → Clear to remove filters, or click the filter dropdown and choose (Select All).

  3. If using an Excel Table, clear or reset the filter in the table’s header.

Note: Clearing the filter reveals rows without touching manually hidden rows.

10. Unhide grouped rows (outline)

Grouped rows are collapsed under a small box or numbered outline at the left/top.

To expand grouped rows:

  • Click the small + symbol (beside row numbers) to expand.

  • Or go to Data → Ungroup → Clear Outline to remove grouping altogether.

If the outline bar has numbers (1,2,3), clicking higher numbers expands more detail.

11. Unhide rows in a protected worksheet

If the worksheet is protected you may be blocked from unhiding rows.

Steps:

  1. Go to Review → Unprotect Sheet.

  2. If a password is required, you’ll need it to proceed. Without it, you cannot unprotect the sheet.

  3. Once unprotected, use any of the earlier methods (right-click Unhide, Ctrl+Shift+9, Format → Unhide).

If you don’t have the password, contact the workbook owner.

12. Unhide all rows in the entire worksheet (one click)

If many rows are hidden and you want everything visible:

  1. Click the Select All triangle (top left corner, between row numbers and column letters) or press Ctrl + A twice (to select entire sheet).

  2. Right-click any row header and choose Row Height… (or Unhide).

    • If you choose Unhide, Excel will unhide all rows.

    • If rows are zero height, set Row Height to 15 and click OK.

This is a quick “reset” for visibility.

13. Use Go To Special to find and unhide hidden rows

Go To Special can locate visible/hidden cells, blanks, etc., and help find hidden rows indirectly.

  1. Press Ctrl + G → Special….

  2. Choose Visible cells only to operate on visible cells, or use Constants and Formulas to isolate areas.

  3. To reveal hidden rows, it’s often faster to use the Select All → Unhide trick above, but Go To Special helps when combined with other selection logic.

14. VBA method: Automatically unhide all rows (short script)

For power users: a tiny macro unhides everything in the active sheet.

  1. Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA editor.

  2. Insert → Module.

  3. Paste:

Sub UnhideAllRows()
Cells.EntireRow.Hidden = False
End Sub

  1. Press F5 to run the macro (or close the editor and run from Developer → Macros).

This line sets every row’s Hidden property to False — quick and powerful.

⚠️ If the sheet is protected, unprotect it first or the macro will error unless protection is handled via code.

15. Troubleshooting — why rows remain hidden

If unhide action doesn’t work, check:

  • Worksheet protection (Review → Unprotect Sheet).

  • Workbook protection (File → Info → Protect Workbook).

  • Filters still active (Data → Clear).

  • Grouped rows (Data → Ungroup).

  • Conditional formatting or VBA that re-hides rows automatically.

  • Merged cells spanning hidden rows (unmerge then unhide).

  • Hidden via very small font/row height — set Row Height manually.

If a macro continuously hides certain rows, inspect ThisWorkbook or Workbook_Open macros.

16. Pro tips: preventing hidden row headaches

  • Use comments or a visible note when hiding rows to document why.

  • Avoid using zero row height—use proper hide commands so colleagues know what’s intentional.

  • Keep filters documented if you share the workbook.

  • Avoid protecting sheets unless necessary or leave a contact for the password.

  • Use formatting and grouping intentionally and communicate grouping levels.

  • If distributing files, consider a small “ReadMe” worksheet that explains any hidden content.

17. Quick reference: keyboard shortcuts & menu paths

Action Shortcut / Menu
Unhide selected rows Ctrl + Shift + 9
Unhide selected columns Ctrl + Shift + 0 (may be OS dependent)
Select entire sheet Ctrl + A (twice) or Click top-left triangle
Name Box select (row) Type 10:10 in Name Box and Enter
Format → Unhide Rows Home → Format → Hide & Unhide → Unhide Rows
Unprotect sheet Review → Unprotect Sheet
Open VBA editor Alt + F11
Run Macro Alt + F8 (choose macro)

18. Summary & conclusion

Hiding rows is a useful way to simplify a worksheet, but when you can’t see the data you need, it’s a nuisance. In Excel 2013 you have multiple reliable ways to unhide row Excel 2013:

  • Right-click Unhide or Ctrl + Shift + 9 for quick fixes.

  • Use the Name Box or Go To for specific row numbers.

  • Check filters and grouped outlines if rows won’t reappear.

  • Adjust Row Height when rows have zero height.

  • Use the VBA macro to unhide all rows instantly.

  • Remember to check worksheet protection and macros that might re-hide rows.

With these steps, you should be able to recover hidden rows quickly and prevent future confusion.

FAQs

Q1: Why won’t Unhide show an option when I right-click?
A: You probably didn’t select the rows around the hidden area. Select the row above and below the hidden rows (or select the entire sheet) and try again. Also check if the sheet is protected.

Q2: How do I unhide rows if Ctrl+Shift+9 does nothing?
A: The sheet may be protected or the rows may have a row height of 0. Unprotect the sheet and/or set Row Height manually via Home → Format → Row Height.

Q3: Can hidden rows contain formulas that still calculate?
A: Yes. Hidden rows still participate in formulas and calculations. Unhiding only affects visibility.

Q4: Is there a way to unhide rows in many sheets at once?
A: Yes. Group the sheets (Ctrl-click the sheet tabs or Shift for a range), then select the whole sheet and unhide rows. Be careful — changes apply to all grouped sheets.

Q5: Will unhiding rows reveal filtered rows?
A: No. Filtered-out rows are hidden by the filter. Clear the filter (Data → Clear) or adjust filter settings to reveal them.

Key takeaways

  • Use Ctrl + Shift + 9 or right-click → Unhide for fast fixes.

  • Name Box and Go To are precise ways to target rows (10:10, 5:5,11:11).

  • Zero row height can mimic hidden rows — set Row Height to fix.

  • Check filters, grouping, and sheet protection when rows won’t unhide.

  • For a full reset, select the entire sheet and Unhide or run a short VBA macro.

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