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How to Remove Data Bars in Excel

Cody Schneider••8 min read

Excel’s data bars are a fantastic tool for visualizing values inside a cell, instantly turning rows of numbers into an easy-to-read bar chart. But there comes a time when you need to remove them - whether to clean up a spreadsheet, apply different formatting, or start a new analysis. This tutorial will walk you through several easy methods for removing data bars so you can take full control of your worksheet’s appearance.

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What Are Data Bars in Excel? (And Why Remove Them?)

First, a quick refresher. Data bars are a type of conditional formatting in Excel. They fill each cell with a colored bar whose length is relative to the other values in the selected range. The cell with the highest value gets a full bar, the cell with the lowest value gets the shortest bar (or no bar), and everything else is scaled in between. It's a simple, effective way to spot high and low values at a glance without having to build a separate chart.

So, if they're so handy, why would you need to remove them?

  • Reducing Visual Clutter: Sometimes, less is more. If a sheet is overloaded with colors and bars, removing them can make the raw numbers easier to read.
  • Preparing for a Different Visualization: You might decide that color scales, icon sets, or even traditional charts are a better fit for your analysis. Removing the data bars is the first step.
  • Finalizing a Report: You may have used data bars for your own exploratory analysis, but now you need to create a clean, minimalist table for a formal presentation or report.
  • Fixing Formatting Errors: It's easy to accidentally apply data bars to the wrong range of cells. You might also inherit a spreadsheet from a colleague with formatting that doesn't fit your needs.
  • Updating Your Data: If the data set has been updated or changed significantly, the original data bar rule may no longer be relevant or helpful.

Whatever your reason, Excel provides a few different ways to get the job done, ranging from a quick clearing of a section to a more surgical removal of a specific formatting rule.

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Method 1: The Easiest Way to Remove Data Bars from Selected Cells

This is the most common and direct method you'll use. It's perfect for when you have a specific column or range of data where you want to get rid of the visual formatting. Think of this as the standard "point-and-click" solution.

Follow these simple steps:

  1. Select the Cells: First, click and drag your mouse to highlight all the cells that have the data bars you want to remove. Make sure you select the entire range that the original rule was applied to.
  2. Navigate to the Home Tab: Look at the ribbon at the top of the Excel window and make sure you are on the Home tab.
  3. Open Conditional Formatting: In the Styles section of the Home tab, click on the Conditional Formatting button. This will open a dropdown menu with several options.
  4. Find the 'Clear Rules' Option: Hover your mouse over the Clear Rules option in the menu. Another sub-menu will appear next to it.
  5. Clear Rules from Selected Cells: In the new sub-menu, click on Clear Rules from Selected Cells.

That's it! The data bars in your selected range will instantly disappear, leaving you with just your raw numbers. Be aware that this action removes all conditional formatting from the selected cells, not just the data bars. If you also had color scales or icon sets applied to that same range, they will be removed as well.

Method 2: How to Remove All Data Bars from an Entire Worksheet

What if you have data bars scattered all over your worksheet in multiple, non-adjacent columns? Selecting them all individually would be tedious. In this scenario, you can clear all conditional formatting from the entire sheet in a single action.

This method is powerful, but use it with caution.

Steps to Clear Rules from the Entire Sheet

  1. Make sure you are viewing the correct worksheet. The following action will only affect the active sheet you are on.
  2. Go to the Home tab on the Excel ribbon.
  3. Click the Conditional Formatting button in the Styles group.
  4. Hover your cursor over the Clear Rules menu item.
  5. From the sub-menu that appears, select Clear Rules from Entire Sheet.

Just like that, every single conditional formatting rule - including all data bars, color scales, icon sets, and formula-based rules - will be permanently wiped from the worksheet.

A Friendly Warning: This is a "scorched-earth" approach. It will remove every piece of conditional formatting you’ve created on that sheet. This is great for a total reset, but if you have other important formatting rules you want to keep, this method is too blunt. If you only want to remove one specific data bar rule while preserving others, the next method is for you.

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Method 3: The Surgical Approach - Deleting a Specific Data Bar Rule

Imagine you have a sales dashboard where you've applied data bars to see sales volume, but you've also applied color scales to show profit margins in the same cells. Using the first two methods would remove both formatting types. For more complex situations like this, you need a more precise tool: the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager.

This feature lets you see and manage every single conditional formatting rule applied to your worksheet and delete them one by one.

How to Use the Rules Manager

  1. Select a relevant cell: Click on any one of the cells that is governed by the data bar rule you want to delete. This helps Excel show you the relevant rule right away.
  2. Open the Rules Manager: Go to the Home tab > Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules.... This will open a new dialog box titled "Conditional Formatting Rules Manager."
  3. Find Your Rule: At the top of the dialog box, there's a dropdown menu that says "Show formatting rules for:". If it's set to "Current Selection," you should already see the data bar rule. If you want to see all rules on the sheet, select "This Worksheet" from the dropdown.
  4. Identify the Data Bar Rule: Each rule will be listed with details about its type ("Data Bar"), the range it applies to ("Applies to"), and a preview of the format on the right. This preview makes it easy to spot the rule you want to remove.
  5. Delete the Rule: Click on the data bar rule you wish to remove. It will become highlighted. Then, click the Delete Rule button.
  6. Confirm Your Changes: After deleting the rule, click Apply to see the change take effect on your spreadsheet, and then click OK to close the manager.

Your data bars will now be gone, but any other conditional formatting rules you had in place will remain untouched. This method gives you complete control and is the safest way to edit complex spreadsheets without undoing your other hard work.

Tips and Troubleshooting

Here are a few common issues and pointers to keep in mind when working with data bars and conditional formatting.

"I've made a mistake!"

We've all been there. If you accidentally deleted the wrong rule or cleared formatting from the entire sheet by mistake, don't panic! Simply use the Undo command immediately by pressing Ctrl + Z (on Windows) or Cmd + Z (on Mac). Your formatting will be restored.

Why is "Clear Rules" grayed out?

If you select a range of cells and the Clear Rules option is grayed out and unclickable, it simply means that Excel has not detected any conditional formatting rules within your selection. Double-check that you've highlighted the correct cells. It's possible the data bars you're seeing are actually another type of formatting or even in-cell charts.

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Managing Worksheets with Many Rules

In highly complex spreadsheets, the list in the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager can get long. The "Show formatting rules for:" dropdown at the top of the window is your best friend here. It helps you filter the list to just see the rules in your current selection, which makes it much easier to find the exact one you’re looking to delete without scrolling through dozens of others.

Final Thoughts

Removing data bars in Excel is a straightforward task once you know where to look. You can use the quick "Clear Rules" option for simple cleanup of a selection or an entire sheet, or turn to the Rules Manager for precise control over which formatting gets removed. Mastering these simple workflows will help you keep your spreadsheets clean, professional, and ready for any analysis.

While tweaking spreadsheets is a key skill, hours can disappear into manually building and formatting reports across different platforms week after week. At Graphed, we decided to automate this entire process. We allow you to connect all your data sources - like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce - and build real-time, interactive dashboards just by describing what you want in plain English. This lets you skip the tedious manual reporting so you can focus on making decisions, not building charts.

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