How to Fix Delete Sheet Not Working on Excel

Wondering why the delete sheet function is not working on Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet tool that can be helpful when managing and analyzing huge data. In fact, you can use over a million rows on a single sheet in Microsoft Excel. 

Given that Excel is mainly used for data analytics and organization, Microsoft added several tools that make our work easier. 

For example, newer versions of Microsoft Excel allow users to add multiple sheets in a single workbook. This is a very simple feature but can be extremely helpful in managing and sorting your data. 

Recently, there have been complaints from several users who encounter problems when deleting a worksheet on Excel. 

According to the reports, the delete sheet function is not working on Microsoft Excel. 

Most of the time, this issue occurs when your workbook is protected. However, it can also be due to outdated software or improper configurations. 

Today, we will show you how to fix the delete sheet function if it’s not working on Excel. 

Let’s get right into it!

1. Restart Your Computer. 

Before changing your configurations, we recommend restarting your computer first if you encounter issues with Microsoft Excel or any app. This should reload your resources and eliminate temporary bugs and errors. 

Check out the guide below to restart your PC: 

  1. First, press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start Menu
  2. After that, access the Power Options tab. 
  3. Lastly, choose Restart and wait for your system to reboot. 
Restart PC

Once done, launch Microsoft Excel and see if the delete sheet function is working. 

2. Unportect Your Workbook. 

One of the main reasons why you can’t delete a sheet on Microsoft Excel is if your workbook is protected. To confirm this, try checking if your workbook is protected and unprotect it in the meantime to delete your sheets. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

  1. First, access your workbook and go to the Review tab. 
  2. After that, look for the Protect section. 
  3. Lastly, click on Unprotect Worksheet and Unprotect Workbook
delete sheet not working on Excel

Go back to your worksheet and see if the delete sheet function works. 

3. Disable Add-Ins. 

If you are using add-ins on your worksheet, it might be the reason you can’t delete your sheets. Some of your add-ins could be interfering with the delete sheet function, explaining why it is not working. 

To fix this, follow the steps below to disable your add-ins: 

  1. On your computer, launch Microsoft Excel and open your workbook. 
  2. Next, go to File > More > Options
  3. Finally, access the Add-Ins tab and ensure that your add-ins are turned off. 
delete sheet not working on Excel

Once done, restart Excel to apply the changes and check if the problem is solved. 

4. Update Microsoft Excel. 

The version of Microsoft Excel you are using might have a problem that causes the delete sheet function not to work. To rule this out, we recommend updating your software to the latest version possible. 

Follow the guide below to update Excel: 

  1. First, launch Microsoft Excel on your computer. 
  2. After that, click on File > Accounts
  3. Lastly, access the Update Options tab and click on Update Now or Enable Updates.
delete sheet not working on Excel

Go back to your worksheet afterward and see if the problem is solved. 

That brings us to the end of our guide for fixing the delete sheet function if it’s not working correctly on Microsoft Excel. If you have questions, please drop a comment below, and we’ll do our best to help. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter) Website

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