By default Google Sheets has 1000 rows in a new spreadsheet, but you can add more rows anywhere you want in your spreadsheet. Sometimes you may need more rows to hold more data in your spreadsheet, or you may simply need to insert a row in an exact location.
In this lesson I will show you how to add a single row or multiple rows to your spreadsheet. I’ll show you how to add the rows to the bottom of the sheet, or in any location that you want.
To insert rows into a Google spreadsheet, follow these steps:
- If you want to add rows to the bottom of the sheet, scroll down to the end of the sheet, enter the number of rows to add, then click “Add”. To insert rows anywhere you want, follow the steps below
- Select a row where you want to insert another row. Or select multiple rows.
- Right-click on the number on the left of the selected row or one of the selected rows
- Choose “Insert 1 row above” or “Insert 1 row below”. If multiple rows were selected, multiple rows will be inserted
After following the steps above, you will have successfully added a new row (or multiple new rows) to your Google spreadsheet.
The image below shows the option to easily add rows at the bottom of the sheet.
The image below shows the option to add rows above or below selected rows.
Right-clicking on the selected row(s) is the easiest way to add rows to a specified location, but if you want you can click “Format” > “Rows” instead or right-clicking.
This lesson focuses on adding rows, but you can click here to learn how to add columns in Google Sheets.
Number of rows selected controls the number of rows inserted
Note that the number of rows that you select before adding rows, controls the number of rows that will be inserted into your spreadsheet when using the right-click menu method to add rows in a specified location. When you select a single row, only one additional row will be inserted into your sheet when you insert rows. If you select 3 rows, 3 rows will be inserted when you insert rows.
How to select one or multiple rows
To select a single row in Google Sheets, click on the number on the left of the desired row.
To select multiple rows in Google Sheets, click and hold your cursor on the number of the first row you want to select, then drag your cursor down across the rows you wish to select. Release your cursor once all the desired rows are highlighted.
Height of the selected rows controls the height of the added rows
When you add rows to your Google Sheets document, the height of a newly inserted row will automatically match the height of the selected row / row that was right-clicked. If multiple rows are selected, the height of the new row will match the height of the row that is on the edge of where the new rows are being added (above or below).
Adding rows to the bottom of the sheet (More than 1000)
Adding rows to the end of a Google spreadsheet is often needed to store more data on a single tab. Google Sheets has a button that makes adding rows to the end of the sheet very fast and easy.
To add rows to the end of the sheet follow these steps:
- Scroll down to the bottom of the sheet
- In the box (says 1000 by default) enter the number of rows that your want to add
- Click “Add”
A new row / new rows will appear below the last row, extending your spreadsheet further.
As you can see in the image below, 1000 rows were added past row 1000, and the sheet now has 2000 rows.
Adding a single row above or below
If you only need to add a single row to your sheet, this can be done very easily. If you want you can first select the row where you want to add another row, or you can simply right-click on the row without needing to select it first.
To add a single row (above or below) in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
- Right-click on the number on the left of the selected row
- Choose “Insert 1 row above” or “Insert 1 row below”
A new row will appear in the selected position, adjacent to the chosen side of the existing row.
As you can see in the image above, you can choose to add a row above the selected row, or to add a row below the selected row.
Adding multiple rows
If you want you can add multiple rows to your Google spreadsheet all at once, in any location that you want, without having to insert single rows over and over again.
To add multiple rows to a Google spreadsheet, follow these steps:
- If you want to add multiple rows to the bottom of the sheet, scroll down to the end of the sheet, enter the number of rows to add, then click “Add”. To insert multiple rows anywhere you want, follow the steps below
- Select the rows where you want to insert more rows
- Right-click on the number on the left of one of the selected rows
- Choose “Insert 2 rows above” or “Insert 2 rows below”. The number of rows inserted will change according the number of rows selected
The specified number of new rows (how many were selected) will appear in the selected position, adjacent to the chosen side of the existing rows.
By following these steps, you can quickly add multiple rows to your spreadsheet as needed.
As you can see in the image above, when two rows are selected, Google Sheets will give you the option to add 2 rows at once. The number of rows you select will be reflected in the option to add new rows.
As you can see in the image above, 2 rows have been added above row 1 (row 1 became row 3 and the two new rows are now 1 and 2).
Adding new rows to specific locations
Sometimes, you may need to insert rows at specific locations within your spreadsheet instead of at the end of the sheet. This can be done by selecting the row(s) at the specific location you want to add rows to.
To add rows to a specific location, follow these steps:
- Select a row where you want to insert another row. Or select multiple rows.
- Right-click on the number on the left the selected row or one of the selected rows
- Choose “Insert 1 row above” or “Insert 1 row below”. If multiple rows were selected, multiple rows will be inserted
A single new row will appear in the selected position, shifting the existing rows accordingly above or below.
By following these steps, you can precisely place new rows where you need them in your spreadsheet.
For example if you want to insert a row between rows 1 and 2. To do this, either add a row below row 1, or add a row above row 2.
As you can see in the image above, a new row has been added between rows 1 and 2 (row 2 became row 3).
Now you know how to add rows in Google Sheets!
How to delete rows
To delete columns select the row(s) that you want to delete, right-click on one of the selected rows, then click “Delete row”.
