Removing Asterisks from Excel Sheets - Step by Step Guide

If you've ever had to work with large datasets in Excel, you might have encountered situations where unwanted asterisks (*) appear within your data. These asterisks can clutter your spreadsheets, interfere with data analysis, and generally make your work less efficient. Whether these asterisks result from data imports, formula errors, or mistakes in manual entry, it's important to know how you can remove them effectively. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore various methods to get rid of asterisks from your Excel spreadsheets, ensuring your data is clean and ready for analysis or reporting.

Why Remove Asterisks from Your Excel Data?

Before diving into the methods, let's understand why cleaning up your Excel sheets from asterisks is crucial:

• Improve Data Integrity: Asterisks can denote different things in data sets, like wildcard characters in searches or placeholders, potentially leading to confusion or errors in data interpretation.
• Enhance Data Visualization: Charts and graphs look cleaner and more professional without unnecessary characters.
• Streamline Data Analysis: Removes potential interference with formulas, functions, or filters, ensuring data processing is smooth.
• Better Compatibility: Clean data exports seamlessly into other software, preserving your work's integrity.

Methods to Remove Asterisks from Excel

1. Using Excel’s Replace Function

The simplest way to remove asterisks is through Excel’s Find and Replace tool:

1. Select the range or cells you want to clean up.
2. Press Ctrl + H or navigate to Home tab > Editing group > Find & Select > Replace…
3. In the ‘Find what’ field, type an asterisk (*). Ensure you don’t enter any characters in the ‘Replace with’ field.
4. Click ‘Replace All’ to remove all asterisks.

💡 Note: Be cautious with wildcard characters in Excel. Use the ‘Options’ to change how Excel matches the search string if needed.

2. Manual Removal

If you have a small dataset or prefer a more controlled approach:

• Select the cell containing the asterisk.
• Highlight the asterisk and press ‘Delete’ or ‘Backspace’.

Manual removal is time-consuming for larger datasets but ensures precision.

3. Using Functions to Clean Data

If your asterisks appear due to formula calculations or data imports, use functions like SUBSTITUTE or CLEAN:

• SUBSTITUTE: =SUBSTITUTE(A1, “*”, “”) replaces all instances of asterisks in cell A1 with an empty string.
• CLEAN: =CLEAN(A1) removes non-printable characters, which might include asterisks, depending on how they were introduced.

🔍 Note: The CLEAN function works best for imported data with hidden characters but might not remove asterisks from regular text.

4. Employing Macros for Advanced Removal

For bulk cleaning or when dealing with complex datasets:

Sub RemoveAsterisks()
    Dim rng As Range
    Set rng = Application.Selection

For Each cell In rng
    cell.Value = Replace(cell.Value, "*", "")
Next cell


End Sub

Run this macro on the selected range to remove all asterisks. To create and run macros, ensure you have macro-enabled Excel sheets and know how to access the VBA editor.

Conclusion

In this guide, we’ve explored multiple methods to remove asterisks from Excel sheets, from simple replacements to more complex macro-based solutions. Each method has its application, depending on the size of your dataset and how the asterisks were introduced. By cleaning up your spreadsheets, you not only enhance data analysis but also ensure your data is ready for professional reporting or further processing in other applications. The key to efficient Excel management is understanding the various tools at your disposal and when to apply them, ensuring your data remains clean, accurate, and easy to work with.

Can Excel formulas cause asterisks to appear?

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Yes, certain formulas like conditional formatting or formulas using wildcards can inadvertently introduce asterisks if not set up correctly.

What’s the quickest method to remove asterisks in a large dataset?

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Using the ‘Find and Replace’ function with a blank replacement field is the fastest method for large datasets. Macros provide even more efficiency for recurring cleanups.

Is it possible to selectively remove asterisks in Excel?

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Yes, by creating a custom VBA script, you can selectively target and remove asterisks based on specific conditions or data patterns.