Remove Unwanted Custom Cell Styles from an Excel Workbook in WPS Office
Question details
The user needs to remove many unwanted custom cell styles from an Excel workbook while preserving formulas, values, and required formatting.
- Product
- WPS Spreadsheets / Microsoft Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- A user opened an Excel workbook that contains many unwanted custom cell styles and wants to clean it up safely.
- Observed behavior
- The Cell Styles gallery is cluttered with custom styles, and the user wants to remove them without losing formulas, values, or needed formatting.
Open the workbook in WPS Spreadsheets and note which worksheets contain formulas, values, or formatting that must be kept. If you plan to delete many styles, save a copy of the original workbook before you start.
Copy the Used Worksheets to a New Workbook
Use this method when only a few worksheets contain the data you need, because a new workbook removes the unused custom styles from the original file.
This approach is the safest way to clean a workbook without changing the formulas, values, or formatting that you actually use. Unused custom styles are not copied into the new workbook.
Launch WPS Office, click Menu > Open, and select the Excel workbook that contains unwanted custom cell styles.
Right-click the worksheet tab at the bottom, choose Move or Copy, select (new book) in the To book dropdown, check Create a copy, and click OK.
Open the new workbook, then repeat the right-click > Move or Copy action for each remaining worksheet that contains required data.
Click Menu > Save As, choose Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) as the file type, and save it under a new file name.
Delete Individual Custom Cell Styles from the Cell Styles Gallery
Use this method when you only need to remove one or a few specific custom styles rather than cleaning the entire workbook.
Use a Tested Cleanup Method for Large Workbooks
Use this for large workbooks with many worksheets when copying each sheet manually is impractical.
Clean Up Unwanted Custom Cell Styles in WPS Spreadsheets
Open the Excel workbook in WPS Spreadsheets and use a new workbook or the Cell Styles gallery to remove unwanted custom styles while keeping formulas, values, and required formatting intact.
- 1. Open the Excel workbook in WPS Spreadsheets: Launch WPS Office, click Menu > Open, and select the .xlsx workbook that contains the unwanted custom styles.
- 2. Review the sheets and styles: Check each worksheet for formulas, values, and formatting, then go to Home > Cell Styles to see the available custom styles.
- 3. Copy needed sheets to a new workbook: Right-click each worksheet tab, choose Move or Copy, select (new book), check Create a copy, and click OK to move only the needed sheets into a clean workbook.
- 4. Delete individual styles and save: For any remaining custom styles, open Home > Cell Styles, right-click the unwanted style, choose Delete, then click Menu > Save As and save as an Excel Workbook (*.xlsx).
Frequently Asked Questions
Will copying worksheets to a new workbook remove all unwanted custom cell styles?
Copying only the worksheets you need into a new workbook removes unused custom styles from the original workbook. If a style is actually applied to copied cells, it may still be present because it is in use.
How can I delete a single custom cell style in WPS Spreadsheets?
Go to the Home tab, click Cell Styles, right-click the unwanted custom style in the gallery, and choose Delete.
What happens to cells that use a style after I delete that style?
Cells that depend on the deleted style may revert to the Normal style or lose the style's specific formatting, so check the affected cells after deletion.
Does WPS Spreadsheets support Excel custom cell styles?
Yes. WPS Spreadsheets opens .xlsx workbooks and displays custom cell styles in the Cell Styles gallery, so you can manage them without converting the file.
What is the safest approach for a large workbook with too many custom styles?
For large workbooks, work on a backup copy and use a tested VBA cleanup procedure in Microsoft Excel or a dedicated workbook repair tool, then verify formulas and formatting before replacing the original.
