Some data is necessary for functions and tools, but is distracting on an otherwise clean worksheet. To keep your sheet neat, hide the data using the Format Cells feature. While they won’t appear in the cells, you can still verify the values by selecting the cells and looking in the Formula Bar.
1. Select the cells that contain the data you want to hide.
2. Right-click anywhere in the selected range and click Format Cells from the pop-up menu.
3. Click the Number tab and select Custom from the Category list.
4. Enter ;;; (that’s three semicolons) in the Type field and click OK.
5. View the original data to see that it’s hidden on the sheet.
This method not only hides the data on the sheet, but also on printouts, so you’re ensured a clean output.
Note that you can still view the values in selected cells by looking in the Formula Bar. To also hide the formula in the Formula Bar, check Hidden in the Format Cells’ Protection tab and click Protect Sheet in the main Review tab’s Changes group.
Leave the defaults as they are, but you can optionally enter a password to prevent others from disabling protection. Click OK to protect the spreadsheet.
