How to Use Strikethrough in Excel

What this does

Strikethrough draws a line through text while keeping the value in the cell. It is formatting, not deletion, so formulas, filters and copies still see the original value. You can apply it to a whole cell or, while editing, to only selected characters inside the cell. Most people learn this as a sequence of clicks and forget it by next week; learning it as a pattern instead is what lets you apply it to the next, slightly different version of the problem without starting from scratch. That is the difference this page is trying to make. Treat “use strikethrough in excel” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected cells shows up while it is still harmless. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That turns a workflow that saves repeating the same clicks every week into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.

A worked example

A task list has Done items in A2:A10. Select completed task names and press Ctrl+5 to strike them through. If a cell says Draft final, edit the cell, select only Draft, press Ctrl+1 and tick Strikethrough so only that word is crossed out. Strikethrough is best for visible workflow state: done tasks, superseded values, cancelled line items and review notes where the old text should remain visible. If there is any chance you will reuse this, drop it into a small template tab right now: a labelled input area on the left and the formula beside it, checked once against the tool above. Next time the same question comes up, the answer is a single paste away instead of a rebuild from memory.

In Google Sheets

Everything above works in Google Sheets too. Excel and Sheets share the formula syntax used here; only the surrounding menus are arranged differently. That portability is deliberate — learn it once and it follows you between the two tools and across Windows and Mac. Keep this page bookmarked for the next time the same question comes up. Better still, rebuild the example once in your own sheet — doing it yourself, with the tool above to check against, is what turns a copied formula into a technique you own. The short version of “use strikethrough in excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, the tool proves it on your own numbers, and the sections above explain why it holds so the next variation does not stump you. Excel rewards people who reference cells instead of typing values and who keep inputs separate from formulas, because that is what makes a result you can audit months later. Build it once, deliberately, with the live tool as a check, and you convert a one-off lookup into a reusable skill — which is the whole point of learning the why and not just the what.

Common mistakes

• Assuming strikethrough removes the value from formulas or totals.
• Applying it manually to large lists instead of using conditional formatting from a Done column.
• Expecting Ctrl+5 to work the same in every browser-based spreadsheet environment.
• Using strikethrough as the only status marker, which can be hard to scan or print.

Frequently asked questions