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Select visible cells only in excel on ipad

Cort Naab 0 Reputation points
2026-01-19T17:26:44.1233333+00:00

On a PC it is very easy to select only visible cells which is really convenient for quickly seeing the sum of visible cells or copying and pasting visible cells. For the life of me I cannot figure out how to select only visible cells on my ipad and it is incredibly frustrating. I need to copy columns A, B, D, F, and G into another spreadsheet but I really don’t want to delete the data in C and E in order to do that. Does anyone know how to “select visible cells only” in excel on ipad?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | iOS
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  1. Hendrix-C 16,725 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-01-19T21:44:30.2866667+00:00

    Hi @Cort Naab,

    Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    According to your concern, in Excel desktop app on a PC you can select multiple non-adjacent cells and columns by holding Ctrl and selecting the cells/columns. However, in iOS environment, Excel does not offer the desktop feature of selecting multiple cells, columns or select visible cells only.

    At the moment, you can achieve your goal of copying columns A, B, D, F, and G only by creating a temporary data range for copying only using CHOOSECOLS formula:

    • For example, the data you want to copy is in Sheet1. Then in a new worksheet (named it Export), you can use the CHOOSECOLS formula to return specific columns from Sheet1.
    • For example, you want to export columns A,B,D,F,G only, you can use this formula in cell A1 of Export sheet: =CHOOSECOLS(Sheet1!A:G,1,2,4,6,7)
    • The result will spill into 5 columns A,B,D,F,G and you can now select that spilled range, copy and paste it to another sheet

    Your concern of missing this feature in iOS environment is completely an essential need that provide customers greater controls and actions with mobile devices which can help improve productivity when not using desktop app. That's why even the option is not available today, I'm still optimistic about future enhancements.  

    Because of that, I strongly recommend you share your feedback directly with the Microsoft engineering team via Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub → Send Feedback and describe your suggestion in detail. Your input plays a vital role in shaping the future of Microsoft products.    

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    Note: As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have influence product design decisions and have limited access to internal development details, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.      

    Thank you for your understanding and corporation. If you have any concerns or questions in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Not only will I be happy to assist you, but all moderators in the Q&A forum will also do their best to provide support and guidance.  

    Thank you for being a valued customer and for contacting us on the Microsoft Q&A forum.  

    Wishing you a wonderful day ahead.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-01-19T17:26:53.36+00:00

    Currently, the Excel app on iPad does not have a built-in feature to select only visible cells like the desktop version does. However, you can manually select the cells you want to copy by tapping on each cell or range while avoiding the hidden cells.

    To copy the data from columns A, B, D, F, and G, you can:

    1. Tap and hold on the first cell in column A to select it.
    2. Drag to select the cells in columns B, D, F, and G that you want to copy.
    3. Once selected, tap on the copy option.
    4. You can then paste this data into another spreadsheet as needed.

    While this method is not as efficient as the desktop version, it is currently the workaround available on the iPad version of Excel.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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