How to Use Strikethrough and Keyboard Shortcuts in Google Sheets

In project tracking spreadsheets, task checklists, and financial reconciliations, distinguishing completed, cancelled, or superseded items without deleting their audit trail is essential. Strikethrough formatting provides an immediate visual cue that an item has been addressed while preserving the original cell history. Google Sheets offers multiple methods to apply strikethrough, ranging from universal keyboard shortcuts to contextual menus and automated conditional formatting rules.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Strikethrough Across Operating Systems

The fastest way to toggle strikethrough formatting on active cells or selected text strings is through native keyboard shortcuts:

• Windows and Linux / ChromeOS: Select the cell or text and press Alt + Shift + 5.
• macOS: Select the cell or text and press Cmd + Shift + X.

Pressing the shortcut a second time immediately removes the strikethrough styling, restoring normal typography.

Applying Strikethrough via the Toolbar and Menu Bar

For users who prefer mouse-driven navigation or visual toolbars:

Using the Format Menu

1. Highlight the target cell, column, or row.
2. Click Format in the top menu bar.
3. Hover over Text and select Strikethrough.

Customising the Quick-Access Toolbar

Google Sheets includes a dedicated Strikethrough icon directly on the main toolbar:

1. Locate the formatting cluster on the toolbar (adjacent to Bold, Italic, and Text Colour).
2. Click the Strikethrough icon (represented by the letter S with a horizontal line across it).

Striking Through Specific Words Inside a Cell

Often, you do not want to strike through an entire cell, but rather a single clause or line item within multiline entries:

1. Double-click the cell (or select it and press Enter / F2) to enter edit mode.
2. Highlight only the specific words, numbers, or phrases you wish to cross out.
3. Press Alt + Shift + 5 (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + X (macOS).
4. Press Enter to save your edit. Only the selected substring retains strikethrough formatting.

Automating Strikethrough with Checkboxes and Conditional Formatting

Manual formatting becomes tedious across large to-do lists. Combining interactive checkboxes with conditional formatting rules automatically applies strikethrough as tasks are marked complete:

1. Insert checkboxes into your status column (e.g., column A) by highlighting cells and clicking Insert > Checkbox.
2. Highlight your task description column (e.g., cells B2:B50).
3. Navigate to Format > Conditional formatting in the menu.
4. In the Conditional format rules sidebar, verify the range is set to B2:B50.
5. Under Format rules, open the Format cells if… dropdown and choose Custom formula is.
6. Enter the formula:

   =$A2=TRUE

7. Under Formatting style, click the Strikethrough icon and optionally set text colour to a muted grey.
8. Click Done.

Whenever a checkbox in column A is ticked, the corresponding task in column B automatically receives a neat strikethrough line and dimmed appearance.