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How to delete rows if column contains values from the to remove list in Excel?

Author Sun Last modified
delete rows if column contains specific value
Supposing you have a list of names in column A in a Sheet 1, and the To Remove List in column A in another sheet, says Sheet2. If the rows in column A of Sheet1 contains the names in column A of Sheet2, the names need to be removed from Sheet1 as below screenshot shown. How can you quickly solve it in Excel?

Remove rows if contains value from the remove list with formula and Filter

Remove rows if contains value from the remove list with Kutools for Excel good idea3

arrow blue right bubble Remove rows if contains value from the remove list with formula and Filter

Here I introduce a formula to identify the rows which contains values from the To Remove List in another sheet, then you can choose to delete the rows or filter them out.

1. In Sheet1, select a blank cell next to the name list, B2 for instance, and enter this formula =IF(ISERROR(VLOOKUP(A2,Sheet2!A:A,1,FALSE)),"Keep","Delete"), drag auto fill handle down to apply this formula to the cells. If the cell displays Keep, it means that the row does not contain the values in To Remove List, If show as Delete, you need to remove the row. See screenshot:
enter a formula to check if the row is delete or not

Tip: in the formula, A2 is the first value in the list you want to check if contains values in To Remove List, and Sheet2!A:A is the column includes To Remove List values, you can change them as you need.

2. Then select the first cell of the formula column, B1, and click Data > Filter. See screenshot:
click Data > Filter

3. Click at the Filter icon in formula column to expand the Filter list, check Keep only, and click the OK button. Now the rows containing values in To Remove List have been hidden. See screenshot:
check Keep only from the Filter drop down

Note: Also you can filter out the rows containing values in To Remove List, and select them by pressing Ctrl, and right click to select Delete Row to remove them. See screenshot:
filter out the deleted rows and click Delet to remove them


arrow blue right bubble Remove rows if contains value from the remove list with Kutools for Excel

If you have Kutools for Excel – a handy multi-functional tool, you can quickly find the rows which contain values from the other list by Select Same & Different Cells feature and then remove them by yourself.

Kutools for Excel offers over 300 advanced features to streamline complex tasks, boosting creativity and efficiency. Itegarate with AI capabilities, Kutools automates tasks with precision, making data management effortless. Detailed information of Kutools for Excel...         Free trial...

After free installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:


1. Select the name list and click Kutools > Select > Select Same & Different Cells. See screenshot:
 clcik Select Same & Different Cells feature of kutools

2. In the Select Same & Different Cells dialog, click select button in the According to (Range B) to select the cells in To Remove List of Sheet2. See screenshot:
 select the cells in To Remove List

3. Select Each row in the Based on section, and check Same Values in the Find section, and check Select entire rows option in the bottom. If you want the selected rows are more outstanding, you can check Fill backcolor or Fill font color and specify a color for the same values. See screenshot:
set options in the dialog box

Tip: If the compare ranges includes headers, you can check My data has headers option to compare without headers.

3. Click Ok. Now the rows which contains the values in To Remove List have been selected. See screenshot:
the specific rows are selected

Now you can delete them.

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