strikethrough.text

Google Sheets on Windows and Mac

Strikethrough in Google Sheets by hand or automatically

Select cells and press the shortcut, or click S̶ on the toolbar. Then make Sheets do it for you when a task is ticked off.

Windows · ChromebookAlt+Shift+5
Mac⌘+Shift+X
ToolbarS̶Next to Bold, Italic and text colour

Updated · strikethroughtext.online

The quick way

  1. Select a cell, a range, or whole rows or columns.
  2. Press Alt + Shift + 5 on Windows or a Chromebook, or ⌘ + Shift + X on a Mac.
  3. Press it again to remove it.

Unlike Docs, Sheets puts a strikethrough button right on the toolbar: the S̶ next to Bold and Italic. On a narrow window it may be hidden under the ⋮ overflow menu. Format → Text → Strikethrough works too.

Strike rows automatically when a box is ticked

This is what most people actually want in a to-do list, a packing list or an order tracker.

  1. Add checkboxes: select column A from row 2 down, then Insert → Checkbox.
  2. Select the whole data range, for example A2:E200.
  3. Open Format → Conditional formatting.
  4. Under Format rules, choose Custom formula is and enter =$A2=TRUE.
  5. Under Formatting style, click the strikethrough button (S̶). Grey text helps too.
  6. Click Done.

Tick a box and the whole row is struck through. Untick it and the line goes away. The $ before A keeps every cell in the row looking at the checkbox, and 2 should match your first data row.

The same approach works with a status column: =$D2="Shipped".

Part of a cell

Double-click a cell to edit it, select only the words to strike, and use the shortcut or toolbar button. This works for typed text only. A cell with a formula is formatted all at once.

On the Sheets mobile app

Select the cell, tap the formatting icon (an A with lines) at the top, and on the Text tab tap the strikethrough button. Rule-based formatting set up on a computer keeps working on mobile.

Copying struck cells elsewhere

Cell formatting doesn’t travel. Copy a struck cell into a chat, an email subject line or a social post and the line is gone. Use the copy-paste version on this page when the text has to leave the spreadsheet.

Copy-paste version

For the places where Google Sheets formatting won't follow your text, like file names, chat apps or a social bio.

8 characters, 2 words
Ctrl + Enter copies the first result

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.

  • strikethroughB̶u̶y̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶k̶
  • short strikeB̵u̵y̵ ̵m̵i̵l̵k̵
  • wavy strikeB̴u̴y̴ ̴m̴i̴l̴k̴
  • slashB̷u̷y̷ ̷m̷i̷l̷k̷
  • long slashB̸u̸y̸ ̸m̸i̸l̸k̸
  • double slashB̸̷u̸̷y̸̷ ̸̷m̸̷i̸̷l̸̷k̸̷
  • strike + underlineB̶̲u̶̲y̶̲ ̶̲m̶̲i̶̲l̶̲k̶̲
  • strike + overlineB̶̅u̶̅y̶̅ ̶̅m̶̅i̶̅l̶̅k̶̅
  • underlineB̲u̲y̲ ̲m̲i̲l̲k̲
  • double underlineB̳u̳y̳ ̳m̳i̳l̳k̳
  • overlineB̅u̅y̅ ̅m̅i̅l̅k̅
  • dottedB̤ṳy̤ ̤m̤i̤l̤k̤
  • waveB̰ṵy̰ ̰m̰ḭl̰k̰
  • x belowB͓u͓y͓ ͓m͓i͓l͓k͓
  • redacted████████

Questions people ask

What is the strikethrough shortcut in Google Sheets?

Alt + Shift + 5 on Windows and ChromeOS, and Cmd + Shift + X on a Mac. Select the cells first. The same shortcut turns it off.

How do I strikethrough a row when a checkbox is ticked?

Select the rows, open Format → Conditional formatting, choose "Custom formula is", enter =$A2=TRUE (where column A holds the checkboxes), switch on strikethrough in the formatting style and click Done.

Can I strikethrough only some words in a cell?

Yes. Double-click the cell to edit it, select the words, and press the shortcut or click the strikethrough button. Only the selected text is struck. This does not work in cells that contain formulas.

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