How To: Remove all tickmarks in an Excel document at the same time

Issue: Many users have asked if there is a way to remove all the tickmarks from an Excel document at the same time. This especially applies when a binder is rolled forward and the workpaper is marked as "Rollforward." When a workpaper is rolled forward, all the tickmarks stay the same.

Resolution: There is native functionality in Excel (and Word for that matter) that allows a user to remove any or all of the shapes in the document at the same time. Excel considers tickmarks to be shapes so this options works well. One button will have to be added to a toolbar in Excel to get this option. The steps for adding the toolbar button and actually deleting the tickmarks are below.

Add Toolbar Button

1. 1. In Excel, go to View Toolbars Customize or right-click on the any toolbar and select Customize at the bottom of the pop-up menu
   
2. 2. Click on the Command tab
   
3. 3. In the left panel, select Drawing
   
4. 4. In the right panel, click and drag Select Multiple Objects to an existing toolbar
   
5. 5. Click Close

Removing Tickmarks

1. 1. Click the Select Multiple Objects button just added to the toolbar
   
2. 2. Select objects to be removed (see NOTE below)
   
3. 3. Click OK
   
4. 4. Press the Delete key on the keyboard

NOTE: As a practicle matter, some workpapers can have a large number of tickmarks on them. In those cases, it may make more sense to press Select All in step 2. of Removing Tickmarks instead of selecting each tickmark individually. If this is done, be sure to uncheck each shape that is not a tickmark. The names of the shapes will help in differentiating between tickmarks and other shapes. Tickmarks are added as pictures and other shapes, such as textboxes and arrows, are added using different names.