Excel Column Extractor
Keep only the columns you need, delete the rest, or reorder them - then download a trimmed workbook. No formulas, no upload.
Drop your file here or click to upload
Supports .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb, .csv · up to 50MB · or paste a file from your clipboard
Keep Mode and Delete Mode
The two modes solve opposite problems. Keep selected builds the output from the columns you tick, in the order you tick them - so it trims and reorders in one step. Delete selected removes the ticked columns and leaves the rest in their original order, which is far quicker when you are dropping three fields out of forty. Nothing is produced until at least one column is ticked, so an accidental download of an empty sheet is not possible.
| Source columns | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ID, Name, Email, Salary, Notes | Keep: Email, then Name | Email, Name |
| ID, Name, Email, Salary, Notes | Delete: Salary, Notes | ID, Name, Email |
The ordering behaviour is the part worth remembering: the numbered badge beside each ticked column tells you where it will land. To reshape a sheet into a template's column order, tick the columns in the template's order rather than the sheet's.
Rows, Headers, and Ragged Data
Column selection applies to every row of the sheet including the header, so your labels stay above the right data. The First row is a header checkbox does not change what is exported - it only decides whether the picker lists your header names or falls back to Column A, Column B, and so on, which is what you want on a sheet that starts straight into data. Columns are addressed by position against the widest row in the sheet, so rows that are shorter than the rest produce empty cells rather than shifting values sideways.
Edge Cases
Only the first sheet of the uploaded file is read. The output is written as values in a single sheet called Columns, so formulas become their last calculated results and number formats are not carried over - a date column arrives as the serial number Excel stores beneath it. Blank header cells fall back to a generic label in the picker so a column is never unselectable. The preview shows the first 20 rows; the download contains every row.
A Common Use: Sharing a Safe Subset
The most useful thing this does is produce a file that is missing something. Dropping Salary, Home Address, or an internal Notes column before sending a report out is far safer than hiding those columns in Excel, where the data is still in the file and one unhide away. Delete mode plus a download gives you a copy that genuinely does not contain the fields you removed.
How to Extract Columns
- Upload the file - .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb, or .csv, read in your browser.
- Choose the mode - Keep selected to build a short list, Delete selected to drop a few fields from a wide one.
- Tick the columns - in Keep mode the tick order is the output order, shown by the badges.
- Check the preview - the header row should still sit above the right data.
- Download Result - a new workbook holding only those columns.
When a Different Tool Fits Better
If the columns you want do not exist yet because two fields need joining, use Combine Columns first; if one column needs breaking into several, use Text to Columns. When it is rows rather than fields you want to cut, Filter Excel Rows is the matching tool, and to separate whole sheets into their own files use Excel Splitter. To check whether two columns hold the same values before dropping one of them, run Compare Two Columns.
Frequently Asked Questions
By the order you tick them in Keep mode. The small #1, #2 badge beside each ticked column is its output position, so ticking Email, then Name, then ID produces exactly that column order. Untick and re-tick a column to move it to the end.
No. Delete mode removes the ticked columns and leaves everything else in its original order, which is what you want when you are dropping a few fields from a wide export. Switch to Keep mode when the order matters.
It is treated as row one and follows the same column selection, so it stays lined up with its data. The First row is a header checkbox only decides whether the picker shows your header names or generic Column A, Column B labels.
No. Columns are addressed by position against the widest row on the sheet, and a row that is short simply produces empty cells. Nothing slides left into a neighbouring column.
No. Only the first sheet is read, and the download is that one sheet with your chosen columns, written as values - number formats and formulas do not survive the trip.