Deleting and Hiding
VisiData gives you two ways to remove columns from view: hide (temporary, reversible) and delete (permanent, undoable with U). Choose the right one for your workflow.
Use - to hide columns temporarily (they come back with gv). Use d only when you truly want to remove a column from the sheet (recoverable with U). Think of - as "out of sight" and d as "gone from data."
Hide a Column (-)
Hiding sets the column width to 0 — the column is still part of the data, just not visible.
- # hide the current column (sets width to 0)
Example — hide metadata columns to focus on business data:
# Move to 'internal_id' column
- # column disappears from view
# Move to 'created_at' column
- # column disappears from view
# Later, bring them all back
gv # all hidden columns reappear with their previous width
Hiding is safe — nothing is removed from the data, and gv restores everything instantly.
Bulk Hide from Main Sheet (Custom)
With the Column Selection plugin, you can select and hide multiple columns directly from the main sheet — no need to open the Columns Sheet (Shift+C).
Alt+s # select current column
l # move right
Alt+s # select next column
l
Alt+s # select another column
Alt+- # hide all selected columns at once
To restore them:
Alt+gv # unhide selected columns
Alt+gV # unhide ALL hidden columns
To clear the selection:
Alt+Shift+U # unselect all columns (single key, Kitty+tmux compatible)
This workflow mirrors row selection (s/t/u) but for columns using the Alt+ prefix. See Plugins for the full keybinding reference and implementation details.
Bulk Hide from Columns Sheet
Shift+C # open Columns Sheet
| # select columns by name
# Enter: created_at|updated_at|internal_ref
g- # hide all selected columns
q # return to clean view
Delete a Column (d, gd)
Deleting removes the column entirely from the sheet. The data is gone from the current sheet, but all deletes can be undone with U.
d # delete current column
gd # delete selected columns
# Delete a single column
# Move to 'internal_notes' column
d
# Delete multiple columns
# Select columns first in Columns Sheet: Shift+C
# Select rows with s, then:
gd
Deleted columns can be recovered with U (undo).
Hide vs Delete — When to Use Which
Hide (-) | Delete (d) | |
|---|---|---|
| Reversible | Instantly with gv | With U (undo) |
| Data preserved | Yes — just invisible | No — removed from sheet |
| Saved to file | Yes (still in data) | Yes (removed from data) |
| Best for | Reducing visual clutter | Removing unnecessary data |
| Column width | Set to 0 | Column removed |
Rule of thumb:
- If you might need the column later: hide (
-) - If the column has no value and you're cleaning data: delete (
d)
Quick Reference
| Key | Action | Recover with |
|---|---|---|
- | Hide current column | gv |
gv | Unhide all hidden columns | — |
Alt+- | Hide all selected columns (custom) | Alt+gv |
Alt+gv | Unhide selected columns (custom) | — |
Alt+gV | Unhide all columns (custom) | — |
Alt+Shift+U | Unselect all columns (custom) | — |
d | Delete current column | U |
gd | Delete selected columns | U |
U | Undo last operation | — |
What's Next
- Nested JSON Columns — expand JSON into columns
- Aggregators — set aggregators on columns