July 8th, 2026
How to Unhide Rows in Google Sheets: 7 Easy Ways in 2026
By Drew Hahn · 17 min read
To unhide rows in Google Sheets, select the rows above and below the hidden section, right-click, and choose "Unhide rows." There are a few variations depending on how the rows got hidden, and I've covered all 7 scenarios here, from grouped rows to active filters.
How to find hidden rows in Google Sheets
Before you can unhide anything, you need to know what to look for. Google Sheets leaves a few visual clues depending on why the rows are hidden.
Here's how to spot them:
Gap in row numbers: If the numbers jump from 5 to 12, rows 6 through 11 are hidden. I always check the row numbers first when something looks off in a shared sheet.
Small arrows: Two tiny arrows sit between the visible row numbers at the gap, one pointing up and one pointing down. You can click either one to bring the hidden rows back.
Thin horizontal line: A faint line between 2 rows can signal that rows are hidden in that spot. It's easy to miss, but worth looking for.
Green row numbers: If your row numbers appear in green instead of black, a filter is active. Filtered rows need a different fix from manually hidden ones, which I'll cover below.
How to unhide rows in Google Sheets
Most of the time, rows go missing because someone hid them manually or a selection got hidden by accident. The fix is quick once you know which method to use. Here are the 4 most common ways to do it:
Right-click method
This is the method I reach for first. It works for most cases where rows were hidden manually. Here's how to do it:
Click the row number directly above the hidden section.
Arrow icon method
If you spot the small arrows in the row number column, this is the fastest option. Follow these steps:
Find the 2 small arrows sitting at the gap in your row numbers, one pointing up and one pointing down.
Keyboard shortcut
This method is similar to the right-click method, except for its last steps. Here’s how to use the keyboard shortcut:
Click the row number above the hidden section.
Hold Shift and click the row number below it.
Press Ctrl + Shift + 9 on Windows or Cmd + Shift + 9 on Mac.
Unhide all rows at once
If you're not sure how many hidden sections a sheet has, this clears all of them in one go. Here's how:
Press Ctrl + A on Windows or Cmd + A on Mac to select the entire sheet.
Right-click any row number on the left side.
How to unhide grouped rows in Google Sheets
Grouped rows work differently from manually hidden ones. When a section is grouped and collapsed, you won't see the small arrows. You'll see a plus (+) icon on the left edge of your sheet instead. It's easy to miss if you don't know what to look for, and I've seen it trip up a lot of people working in shared sheets.
Here's how to expand them:
Look for a plus (+) icon on the left side of your sheet, just outside the row numbers.
Click the (+) icon to expand the group. The hidden rows will reappear.
To collapse them again, click the minus (-) icon that replaces the plus.
If your sheet has multiple groups, each one will have its own (+) icon. You'll need to expand them one at a time.
To remove the grouping entirely rather than just expanding it, highlight the grouped rows, right-click, go to View more row actions > Ungroup rows. This ungroups them permanently so they behave like regular rows.
How to unhide rows hidden by a filter
There are 2 ways to handle this depending on whether you want to remove the filter or just adjust it.
To remove the filter entirely:
Click Data in the top menu bar.
Click Remove filter. All filtered rows will reappear and your row numbers will return to black.
To adjust the filter instead of removing it:
Click the filter icon in the column header where the filter is active.
Select Select all from the dropdown menu.
Click OK. The filter stays in place but no longer hides any rows.
I'd recommend adjusting rather than removing if someone else set up the filter for a reason. Removing it can affect how other collaborators see the sheet, which can cause confusion on shared files.
💡Note: If your sheet has both manually hidden rows and an active filter, you'll need to handle both separately. Clear the filter first using the steps above, then use the right-click method or Ctrl + A to bring back any manually hidden rows.
How to unhide rows in Google Sheets on mobile (iOS)
The mobile process is a little different from desktop since you don't have a right-click menu to work with. Here's how to do it on the Google Sheets app on iOS.
Here's how to unhide rows on mobile:
Open your sheet and look for the gap in the row numbers on the left side.
Tap the row number above the hidden section.
If a filter is hiding your rows on mobile, tap any cell in the header row, then tap the filter icon and select Select all to bring everything back.
💡Note: The mobile app has fewer options than the desktop version, so if you're dealing with grouped rows or a complex filter setup, it can be worth switching to desktop to sort it out.
What to do when "Unhide rows" is grayed out
If the "Unhide rows" option appears grayed out in the menu, it usually comes down to one of 3 things:
You right-clicked on a cell instead of a row number: This is the most common cause. Make sure you're right-clicking directly on the row number on the left side of the sheet, not on a cell in the spreadsheet itself. The two menus look similar but offer different options.
The rows are hidden by a filter: The right-click unhide option only works for manually hidden rows. If a filter is active, the option will be grayed out. Check whether your row numbers are green, and if they are, follow the filter steps above instead.
The sheet is protected: If someone has locked the sheet, you won't be able to unhide rows without edit access. To check, right-click the sheet tab at the bottom and select "View protection settings." If the sheet is protected, you'll need to ask the owner to either unlock it or unhide the rows for you.
Do formulas count hidden rows?
Yes, most formulas in Google Sheets count hidden rows by default. Functions like SUM, COUNT, and AVERAGE include hidden rows in their calculations even when those rows aren't visible. This is worth keeping in mind when your totals look higher than expected based on what you can see on screen.
If you want a formula that only calculates visible rows, use SUBTOTAL instead. How it handles hidden rows depends on which function code you use.
Here's a quick comparison:
Formula | Counts filtered rows? | Counts manually hidden rows? |
|---|---|---|
SUM / COUNT / AVERAGE | Yes | Yes |
SUBTOTAL (codes 1-11, e.g. 9) | No | Yes |
SUBTOTAL (codes 101-111, e.g. 109) | No | No |
For example, if you want to sum only the visible rows in column B and exclude both filtered and manually hidden rows, you'd use:
=SUBTOTAL(109, B2:B100)
The 109 is a function code that tells SUBTOTAL which calculation to run and which rows to skip. Google Sheets uses a numbered list of codes where 9 runs a SUM but only ignores rows hidden by a filter, while 109 runs the same SUM and also ignores rows you've hidden manually. Since this article is about manually hidden rows, 109 is the one you want.
Unhide your rows, then put your data to work
Once you know how to unhide rows in Google Sheets, the next step is doing something with that data. Julius is an AI-powered data analysis tool that lets you search for public datasets or connect your existing data sources and get insights, charts, and reports without writing formulas.
Here's how Julius helps:
Data search: Julius can search the web for public datasets or pull structured financial data for 17,000+ companies via its Financial Datasets integration, so you can start from a question rather than an upload.
Direct connections: Link databases like PostgreSQL, Snowflake, and BigQuery, or integrate with Google Ads and other business tools. You can also upload CSV or Excel files. Your analysis can reflect live data, so you’re less likely to rely on outdated spreadsheets.
On-the-fly data cleaning: Remove duplicates, standardize date formats, fill or flag missing values, rename columns, and reshape tables by describing the change you need. Julius runs the transformations in the background, so you don’t have to manually write SQL or build nested spreadsheet formulas to fix messy exports.
Repeatable Notebooks: Save an analysis as a notebook and run it again with fresh data whenever you need. You can also schedule notebooks to send updated results to email or Slack.
Smarter over time: Julius includes a Learning Sub Agent, an AI that adapts to your database structure over time. It learns table relationships and column meanings as you work with your data, which can help improve result accuracy.
Want to clean and analyze your data in the same place, without formulas? Try Julius for free today.
