How to Delete Rows Above Active Cell or Specific Text in Excel

Excel sheets can sometimes come with superfluous data above your current focus or specific text. Getting rid of these rows gives you a cleaner, more digestible set of data. Here's the process:

Step 1: Pinpoint Your Active Cell or Specific Text

Find your active cell or the cell containing the particular text. You'll want to erase all the rows above this point.

Step 2: Select the Overhead Rows

Use Ctrl + Shift + Home to select all the cells between your key cell or text and the top of the worksheet. This keyboard shortcut saves you from manually selecting a potentially high number of rows.

Step 3: Summon the Delete Dialog Box

After highlighting the rows, you'll want to open the delete dialog box. You can do this by right-clicking the selected cells and picking Delete from the dropdown menu.

Step 4: Confirm Row Deletion

In the Delete dialog box that pops up, select the Entire row option and hit OK. Just like that, Excel will delete all the selected rows above your chosen cell or specific text.

Step 5: Check Your Work

Finally, ensure all unwanted rows are gone, and your starting point now resides at the top of your data set.