How to Remove Table Formatting in Excel
Click inside the table, open Table Design > Table Styles, and choose Clear. To lose the table too, clear the style first, then use Convert to Range.
2026-10-11
How to remove table formatting in Excel
To remove table formatting in Excel, click any cell in the table, open the Table Styles gallery on the Table Design tab, and choose Clear. The banded colours go, and the data stays a table.
That works if colours are the only problem. Most people asking this want something slightly different, and the right steps depend on which of three things you actually want gone. Picking the wrong one either leaves the colours behind or wipes your date formats.
TL;DR: Key takeaways
- Colours only: Table Design > Table Styles > Clear.
- The table only: Table Design > Convert to Range. The colours stay.
- Both: clear the style first, then convert. That order keeps your date and number formats.
- Clear Formats also removes number formats, so dates turn into plain numbers.
- Unticking Banded Rows removes just the stripes.
Decide what you want gone
An Excel table is two things at once: a structure, with filter arrows, auto-expanding ranges and structured references, and a style, the banded colours and bold header. Excel removes them separately.
| You want | Do this | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Plain colours, keep the table | Clear the table style | Still a table, no colours |
| A normal range, keep the look | Convert to Range | Not a table, colours remain |
| A plain normal range | Clear the style, then Convert to Range | Not a table, no colours |
Remove the colours, keep the table
- Click any cell in the table.
- On Table Design (the Table tab on a Mac), expand the Table Styles gallery.
- Choose Clear.
Microsoft is explicit that "removing a table style does not remove the table." Filter arrows, sorting and structured formulas all keep working.
If only part of the look bothers you, there is a lighter option. In Table Style Options on the same tab, untick Banded Rows to drop the stripes, or Header Row to hide the header formatting.
Remove the table, keep the colours
Click inside the table, go to Table Design, and choose Convert to Range. The filter arrows disappear and formulas that referred to the table switch to ordinary cell references.
What surprises people is that the colours stay. Microsoft describes Convert to Range as a way to stop working with a table "without losing any table style formatting." The style is baked into the cells as ordinary formatting, so the range looks exactly like the table did.
Remove both: the order matters
To end up with a plain, ordinary range, there are two routes, and one is safer.
Clear the style, then convert. Clear the table style first, then use Convert to Range. Only the table's colours are removed, so anything you formatted yourself, such as dates, currency and percentages, survives.
Convert, then clear formats. Convert to Range, select the cells, and use Home > Clear > Clear Formats. This works, but it clears everything. Number formats are formatting too, so a date like 15 Mar 2026 becomes a raw serial number, and currency loses its symbol.
Prefer the first route. If you have already converted, the free Remove All Formatting macro clears the leftover styling across a selection in one pass, with the same caveat: it strips number formats as well, so reapply date and currency formats afterwards. Removing all formatting covers that trade-off in more detail.
Arrows still showing?
If filter arrows remain in the header row after all this, they belong to a filter rather than the table. Go to Data and click Filter to turn it off. Removing a drop-down list explains how to tell header arrows, filter arrows and real drop-downs apart.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove table formatting but keep the data?
Click inside the table, go to Table Design, expand Table Styles and choose Clear. The colours are removed and every value stays where it is. To turn it into an ordinary range as well, use Convert to Range afterwards.
Why does my data still have colours after Convert to Range?
Because Convert to Range keeps the table's style as ordinary cell formatting. Microsoft designs it that way so the range looks the same. Clear the table style before converting, or use Clear Formats afterwards.
How do I remove Format as Table in Excel?
Format as Table creates a table, so removing it means converting back. Use Table Design > Convert to Range to remove the table, and clear the table style first if you also want the colours gone.
Will removing table formatting change my dates?
Not if you use Clear on the table style, which only removes the table's colours. Clear Formats is different: it removes number formats too, so dates display as serial numbers until you format them again.
How do I remove just the banded rows?
Click inside the table, go to Table Design, and untick Banded Rows in the Table Style Options group. The stripes go and the rest of the table's formatting stays.
What to do next
Decide whether you want the colours, the table, or both gone, then follow that route. For a plain range, clear the style before converting so your number formats survive. For other cleanup jobs on inherited workbooks, browse the free tools library.