Google Sheets Tab Missing? How to Unhide Sheets and Find Tabs

By Gerard Fernandez · Updated · 2 min read

A tab you know exists isn't at the bottom of the screen anymore. The most common reason is that it was hidden, by you or by someone else who edits the file. Hidden tabs keep all their data and formulas; they're just not shown. We hid one in a test file and brought it back.

Google Sheets tab bar showing only Sheet1 after the Pivot Table 1 tab was hidden
After hiding "Pivot Table 1", only Sheet1 is left at the bottom.

Unhide a tab

Google Sheets View menu with Hidden sheets (1) and the option Show Pivot Table 1
View → Hidden sheets lists every hidden tab, with how many there are.
  1. Go to View → Hidden sheets. The number in brackets tells you how many tabs are hidden. If the option is greyed out, no tab is hidden.
  2. Click Show next to the tab you want back.
Google Sheets tab bar showing Sheet1 and Pivot Table 1 again
The tab is back, in its original position.

Find a tab in a long list

If the file has many tabs, the one you want may simply be off-screen. Click the All sheets button (the ☰ icon to the left of the tabs) to see the full list and jump to any tab.

Hide a tab on purpose

Right-click the tab at the bottom (or click its small arrow) and choose Hide sheet. A file always needs at least one visible tab, so you can't hide them all.

Hiding isn't protection. Anyone who can edit the file can unhide the tab from the View menu. To stop people changing a tab, protect it instead: see how to protect cells and sheets.

Frequently asked questions

Do formulas still work with a hidden tab?

Yes. Hiding only changes what you see. Formulas that use the hidden tab keep calculating. If a formula shows "Unresolved sheet name", the tab was renamed or deleted, not hidden: see that guide.

Are hidden rows and columns the same thing?

No, they're unhidden differently. See how to hide and unhide rows and columns.

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