To delete multiple sheets in Google Sheets, just use CTRL when you click on multiple tabs. Then right-click and choose to delete them. Otherwise, you’ll need to write a script.
Below, I’ll share several ways to delete multiple sheets in Google Sheeets.
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How to Delete Multiple Sheets in Google Sheets
The easiest option is to delete multiple sheets by selecting them, right-clicking, and choosing Delete. However, if you need to do it in bulk, you must use Google App Script.
Google Sheets has come a long way since it was released in 2006. Some things still frustrate a lot of its users. One of those things is the lack of ability to delete multiple sheets in Google Sheets in one go.
I’ll cover several more methods below. Let’s get started with our guide on how to delete multiple sheets in Google Sheets.
The Fast Way to Clean Up a Workbook
Keep reading for my a quick guide for how to delete multiple sheets in Google Sheets. But if you want a fast, straightforward no-code, and no-add-on solution, there’s one easy option.
Simply copy the sheets to a new/existing workbook.
How to Select Multiple Sheets and Delete Them
If you’re going to be using most of these Google Sheets delete multiple tabs methods, then knowing how to select multiple sheets will come in handy:
- Click the tab for the first sheet you want to select
- Hold the CTRL button
- Click the next tab you want to select
- Right-click one of the selected tabs
- Click Delete
- Click OK
Move the Sheets You Need to a New Workbook
This is not an elegant solution, but it would work if you have a couple of worksheets you want to keep and delete the rest.
The idea is to copy the sheet to another spreadsheet (new or any existing workbook) and then delete the current workbook.
Suppose you have a Google Sheets document, as shown below, and you only want to keep the Summary sheet and delete all the remaining sheets.
Below are the steps to do this:
- Right-click on the Summary sheet tab
- Go to the Copy to option
- Click on ‘New spreadsheet’
Be able steps would create a new Google Sheets document and copy the summary sheet to that document.
Once done, you can delete the existing Google Sheets document (make sure that no cells/formulas are used in the copied sheet referencing the deleted sheets).
You also have the option to copy a worksheet to an existing workbook. To do that, choose the ‘Existing spreadsheet’ option in step 3. Then you can specify to which spreadsheet the active sheet should be copied.
If you want to do this for multiple sheets, you’ll have to do this one by one.
Although this solution is not elegant, I like that it automatically creates a backup copy of the sheets you’re deleting (as you end up having the sheets that you don’t want to delete in a new worksheet or in any existing worksheet).
Delete All Sheets Except the Specified Sheets (Macro)
With a bit of macro code, you can specify the worksheets you want to keep, and then the macro code will delete all the remaining worksheets. Let’s find out how to delete all sheets in Google Sheets except the specified ones.
Suppose you have a workbook with multiple sheets in Google Sheets, and you only want to keep the ‘Summary’ sheet and the ‘Datasheet’ and delete everything else.
You can do that by using the below Google app script code:
function DeleteAllSheets() { var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet(); var sheets = ss.getSheets(); for (i = 0; i < sheets.length; i++) { switch(sheets[i].getSheetName()) { case "Summary": case "Data": break; default: ss.deleteSheet(sheets[i]);}}}
The above macro code goes through all the worksheets in the Google Sheets document and checks their name. If the name of the worksheet is one of those specified in the macro (in the case statement), then it is skipped, else it is deleted.
So if you have a couple of worksheets that you want to save and delete everything else, this macro would quickly do it.
Note that the changes done by the Google app script code are irreversible. So make sure you have a backup copy in case you need those deleted worksheets.
How to Run this Code?
Below are the steps to run this code in any Google Sheets document:
- Click the Tools option in the menu
- Click on Script editor
- This will open the Apps Script editor in a new tab
- Make sure Code.gs file is selected
- Copy-paste the above code into the script editor. If there is already some code, either delete it (in case you don’t need it) or copy the code below it
- Click on the Save icon in the toolbar
- Click on the Run button in the toolbar.
The above steps would run the code and delete all the worksheets except the one that you have specified in the code.
Google Sheets may also ask you to log in and give it permission to run the code. Just follow the steps on the screen to do that.
Delete the First 10 Sheets (or First N Sheets)
You can also delete a specific number of worksheets in Google Sheets by using a simple macro code.
Below I have a code that would delete the first 10 worksheets (starting from the left-most tab).
function DeleteFirstNSheet() { var spreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActive(); for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) { spreadsheet.deleteActiveSheet();} };
With this code, it does not matter what your active sheet is. It would always start with the leftmost sheet in the workbook and delete the specified number of sheets.
The above code uses the counter (the variable i) and goes through the specified number of worksheets starting from the left. With every loop, it deletes the sheet and moves to the next one.
The loop stops after the specified number, which is 10 in the above code.
Using an Add-on
If you don’t like the idea of using a code, you can use third-party Google Sheets add-ons to delete multiple sheet tabs.
I’m sure there would be others, but the one that I tested is called ‘Bulk Sheet Manager’.
It’s a simple add-on that allows you to quickly select the sheets that you want to delete and then delete all those with the click of a button.
Below are the steps to install the add-on and then use it:
- Click the ‘Add-ons’ option in the menu
- Click on ‘Get Add-ons’
- In the Google Workspace Market dialog box that opens, search for ‘Bulk Sheet Manager’
- Click on the Bulk Sheet Manager Add-on and install it (it may ask for permissions)
- Once installed, go to the Add-ons option
- Go to the ‘Bulk Sheet Manage’ option and then click on ‘Manage sheets’
- In the pane that opens, select the sheets that you want to delete
- Click on the Delete button
The above steps would use the add-on to delete all the selected sheets from the Google Sheets document.
Apart from deleting the sheets, you can also use this add-on to protect/unprotect and hide/unhide sheets.
Once you have added an add-on to any Google Sheets document, you will be able to use that add-on that Google Sheets document, but you will not be able to use it on all the other Google Sheets documents that you create. If you want to use it on other Google Sheets files, you will have to repeat the process and install the add-on again.
Keep in mind that the add-ons keep changing and often get removed from the Google add-on library. If that happens, use the same steps above, and you will likely find a similar add-on.
How to Delete the Entire File
If you want to delete the entire file, it is easier to do so directly rather than use Google Sheet delete multiple sheets methods. You only need to go to File > Move to trash. Your entire spreadsheet will be deleted. However, once you do this, it will be difficult to recover the file again since you can’t access its version history.
Final Thoughts
There may be several reasons why you want to delete multiple tabs. For example, you want to remove duplicates, or you have too many unnecessary sheets.
If you only have a few sheet tabs to delete, doing it manually is fine. But as the number grows, so does the resentment of needing the option for Google Sheets to delete multiple sheets.
In this tutorial, I will show you a couple of methods that you can use to delete multiple sheets in Google Spreadsheets.
Related: How to Recover Deleted Google Sheets Files. This would involve a workaround, a macro (Google Apps Script), and an add-on.
And if you need more control, then you can use the Google Apps script code or an add-on to delete multiple tabs in Google Sheets.
I hope you found this tutorial useful. You can also check out how to delete empty rows in Google Sheets.
Other Google Sheets tutorials you may also like: