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# Hide, show or remove several columns at once

> Select several columns in the Mammoth data grid to hide them, show only them, remove them with one task, or run Find & Replace across the text columns.
>
> Applies to: Where: View › data grid › select two or more column headers › 3-dot menu

Select two or more column headers in the data grid to get the multi-column menu. It is separate from the per-column menu and acts on your whole selection: three visibility options that only change this View, and **Remove** and **Find & Replace**, which add a pipeline task.

## Open the multi-column menu

1. Click the first column header to select it.
2. Hold **Ctrl** (Windows) or **Cmd** (Mac) and click more headers, or hold **Shift** and click another header to select the range between them.
3. Click the 3-dot button that appears on any of the selected headers.

The menu only appears with two or more columns selected. It is disabled while the pipeline is loading or applying changes. The three visibility options are also disabled while the pipeline has a task in error. The menu's actions do nothing in preview mode.

## Hide or show only the selected columns

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Hide** | Hides all selected columns, in addition to any already hidden. The data stays; the columns are invisible. |
| **Hide only these** | Hides the selected columns and shows every other column. Columns hidden earlier are shown again. |
| **Show only these** | Shows only the selected columns and hides everything else. |

These are Display Changes on this View. They don't affect other Views or delete data, and they stay after a refresh. To unhide columns, use the [Column browser](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/explore/column-browser/) or revert them in **Display Changes**.

## Remove columns or find and replace across them

These options sit under a **Data Pipeline** label. Each opens a function panel and adds a pipeline task when you apply it.

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Remove** | Opens Remove Column with all selected columns, and adds a task that removes them from this View. |
| **Find & Replace** | Opens Find & Replace with all selected TEXT columns pre-selected, and the View's current filter as its condition. Disabled if no TEXT column is in the selection. |

Remove is a pipeline task, so later tasks can't use the removed columns. To bring them back, suspend or delete the Remove Column task. Use **Hide** if you only want to clear columns from the grid.

## Which options work for which column types

Hide, Hide only these, Show only these and Remove are always active. **Find & Replace** is active whenever at least one TEXT column is in the selection; the other columns' types don't matter.

| Selection | Find & Replace |
| --- | --- |
| Only TEXT columns | Active |
| Only NUMERIC columns | Disabled |
| Only DATE columns | Disabled |
| TEXT + NUMERIC | Active |
| TEXT + DATE | Active |
| NUMERIC + DATE | Disabled |
| TEXT + NUMERIC + DATE | Active |

## Troubleshooting the multi-column menu

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Find & Replace** is disabled in the multi-column menu | No TEXT column is selected | Add at least one TEXT column to the selection |
| Removed the wrong columns | Remove added a Remove Column task | Suspend or delete that task to bring the columns back |

## Related

- [Work in the data grid](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/clean-and-shape/data-grid/): select rows, copy cells and read the counts.
- [Find and replace values](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/clean-and-shape/find-and-replace/): Find & Replace across several columns.
- [Add, split, copy and delete columns](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/clean-and-shape/manage-columns/): the Remove Column task.

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Source: https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/clean-and-shape/select-columns.md · Updated: 2026-11-08