Removing Duplicates in Excel

 Remove Duplicates in Excel
Removing duplicate information can be both helpful and intimidating when working with many line items in Excel.
Follow these steps to make the process easy :

  1. Ensure your data has column headers and that there are no blank columns or rows between data you want selected and checked.
  2. Click anywhere inside the data you wish to have checked for duplicates. (Once you click the Remove Duplicates command, all data will be selected.) Removing duplicates - data
  3. Click the Remove Duplicates command, located on the Data tab, in the Data Tools group. This will select the rest of the data. Rempver Dupilcates - Click button
  4. A dialog box will pop-up, allowing you to select the columns you want compared for duplicates. It is a best practice to have more selected, rather than fewer, as more criteria will keep the wrong records from being removed. (ex.: If I only chose last name and first name, then there is a good chance I will delete a row that was not actually a duplicate, as there might be more than one person with the same first and last name.) 
  5. Once you click the OK button, it will let you know how many duplicates were deleted.  
Learn more was to make Excel less intimidating and your work easier with a onsite group or virtual training center course from AETC.