Microsoft Excel is a widely used application, but it can be a little confusing when it comes to removing and eliminating duplicate data. Removing duplicates in Excel is a prevalent task for people working on huge datasets. When you combine different tables, or when many people have access to the same document, you might end up having repeated entries in your spreadsheet. Thus, making the data redundant. The larger the dataset, the higher are the chances of encountering duplicate records. It can be problematic if they are not identified and handled correctly.
Using Remove Duplicates Option on Data Tab
Excel has a built-in tool that helps delete repeated entries in your dataset. Let’s have a look at the steps to be followed to remove duplicates in Excel.
- First, click on any cell or a specific range in the dataset from which you want to remove duplicates. If you click on a single cell, Excel automatically determines the range for you in the next step.
- A dialog box appears, as shown below. You can select the columns you want to compare and check for duplicate data.
- Excel will now delete the duplicate rows and display a dialog box. The dialog box shows a summary of how many duplicate values are found and removed along with the count of unique values.
- As you can notice, the duplicate records are removed.