Delete & Backspace keys are not working in Excel (Desktop Version)

Question

Delete and Backspace are not working to delete multiple selected cells at once. Currently the only way to delete info in multiple cells at once is to right click and delete/shift-up. My keyboard isn't failing. So I don't want to hear that nonsense. It's a brand new keyboard and it works with virtually everything except for Excel at the moment. I have reset the computer and I have tried it with different documents all with the same outcome. When I select multiple cells with information in them and I press backspace or delete only the first cell I selected clears out. The rest don't do anything. Why does Excel have this issue? How can it be fixed or remedied?

Answer 1

Hi SidURBNLEAF,

Backspace clears the content of the active cell i.e., it only can clear the first cell where we start selecting. In other Office apps, e.g., Word, we can select multiple lines and press Backspace which will delete all the selected data at once but in case of Excel, it is different. So, if you are deleting content from multiple cells in Excel, Delete key should remove the content from the selected cells at once.

Reference: Keyboard shortcuts in Excel

As Delete key is not working as expected, let’s try the steps below to troubleshoot the issue:

Please ensure your Microsoft 365 apps are fully updated, sometime updating Office fixes issue. To check version information, open any Office app, such as Excel or Word, click File>Account, check for the info mentioned under Product Information. The latest version of Current channel is 2105 (Build 14026.20308). For other channel version info, see Update history for Microsoft 365 Apps (listed by date).

If the version is not updated as mentioned in the article, please install updates and check if the issue remains. To know how to install updates, see Install Office updates.

Try opening Excel in safe mode, insert some content in multiple cells and then select the cells and press Delete key to confirm if the content is cleared or not. To know how to run Excel app in safe mode, see Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC.

If the issue persists,****please provide us with the following information:

1. Please provide the screenshot of Microsoft 365 Product Information. To get this screenshot, open Word or Excel on your system, click File>Account, capture the screenshot of all the information mentioned under Product Information.
2. May I know since when you are getting this issue? Is it after updating Windows OS or Office apps?

Regards,

Neha

Answer 2

Hi SidURBNLEAF,

Did you check the above reply? If you still need help, please update us.

Regards,

Neha