WPS Clear Formatting helps you remove formatting from cells or text within cells quickly; this guide covers 3 core tasks, with 2 available without membership and 1 membership-related item.
At a Glance
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core tasks | 3 | Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index |
| Available without membership | 2 | Includes clearing formats and common clear options |
| Membership-related items | 1 | Deleting pictures and text boxes requires WPS membership |
About This Feature
Overview
Clear Formatting is a formatting cleanup feature in WPS Office Sheets for Windows. It removes font, color, border, fill, and other formatting from selected cells while keeping the cell content.
Core tasks include:
- Clear Formatting: Return selected cells or text within cells to the default display style.
- Extended clear options: Choose Clear All, Clear Contents, Clear Comments, Clear Special Characters, or Clear Partial Text as needed.
- Membership-related extension: Delete pictures and text boxes.
This feature is useful for imported data cleanup, spreadsheet style standardization, correcting accidental formatting changes, and preparing sheets for final output.
System Requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows device |
| App version | The latest version of WPS Office is recommended |
| Network | No mandatory internet connection is required for local clear-formatting actions |
| Other | You need to be able to open and edit files in WPS Sheets |
Download & Installation
Before you use Clear Formatting, install WPS Office on your Windows device.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Official Download | WPS Office Free Download |
| Post-install Check | Launch WPS Office, open a spreadsheet, and confirm that the Clear entry is visible on the Home tab |
Source: WPS Office Download Center
Compare with Alternatives
| Dimension | WPS | Microsoft | Notion | Adobe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability Summary | In Sheets, you can clear formatting from the Home > Clear menu or from the right-click menu, with options such as Clear All, Clear Contents, Clear Comments, Clear Special Characters, and Clear Partial Text. | Microsoft Word provides Clear All Formatting on the Home tab to return text to default formatting, with an emphasis on text formatting cleanup. | Google Docs provides clear text formatting shortcuts for resetting document text styles, mainly for text rather than spreadsheet cell formatting. | Notion provides text styling, colors, and block styling controls, but it does not present a dedicated clear-formatting entry equivalent to spreadsheet cell formatting cleanup. | Adobe Acrobat supports editing text and objects in PDFs, but the official page focuses on PDF editing rather than spreadsheet cell formatting cleanup. |
| WPS Advantages | Advantage: WPS combines format cleanup and several extended clear actions in one workflow. Distinct: In spreadsheet work, it supports both ribbon access and right-click access. | Compared with WPS: The official guidance focuses on text formatting cleanup, with less emphasis on a grouped set of spreadsheet-style clear options. | Compared with WPS: It is more suitable for document text formatting reset, while spreadsheet formatting cleanup is less direct than in WPS Sheets. | Compared with WPS: It is centered more on page and block styling than spreadsheet formatting cleanup. | Compared with WPS: It is mainly designed for PDF editing, so the use case differs from spreadsheet formatting cleanup. |
| Official Source | — | Clear all text formatting | Keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs | Style & customize your page | Edit text |
Overall Conclusion
For spreadsheet cleanup, WPS Clear Formatting fits everyday cell-editing workflows more directly, with clear entry points and multiple clear options in one place. If your main task is resetting spreadsheet styles while keeping content under control, WPS offers a more focused path.
Use Cases
| # | Scenario | Target Users | Core Pain Point | Solution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standardize styles after importing data | Data organizers | Imported data comes with mixed formatting | Clear formatting first, then apply a consistent spreadsheet style |
| 2 | Keep content while removing visual styling | Everyday office users | Only the text and values should remain | Use Clear Formatting to keep content while removing fonts, colors, borders, and fills |
| 3 | Clean up extra objects in bulk | Members | Pictures or text boxes affect layout | Use the delete pictures and text boxes option when needed |
| 4 | Fix a spreadsheet after accidental formatting changes | Finance and admin staff | Part of the sheet was formatted by mistake | Clear formatting in the selected range, then apply the needed style again |
| 5 | Tidy a sheet before sharing or printing | Report creators | The spreadsheet looks inconsistent | Use clear and reapply formatting to improve layout consistency |
Membership & Benefits
Free vs WPS Premium
| Feature | Free User | WPS Member |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Formatting | ✅ | ✅ |
| Clear All, Clear Contents, Clear Comments, Clear Special Characters, Clear Partial Text | ✅ | ✅ |
| Delete pictures and text boxes | ❌ Membership required | ✅ |
| Cloud storage and additional advanced benefits | Basic benefits | More extended benefits |
Source: WPS Office pricing page
Recommendations
| Use Case | Recommended Plan | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday spreadsheet cleanup and basic formatting reset | Free version | Common clear-formatting actions and standard clear options are enough for basic office work |
| Frequent cleanup of pictures, text boxes, or broader advanced benefits | WPS membership | Suitable for users who often work with more complex spreadsheet content |
How to Subscribe
- WPS membership center: Subscribe now
Source: WPS Office pricing page