---
title: "Remove Elements"
url: "https://officeconnectpro.com/reference/troubleshoot/remove-elements/"
description: "How to clear OfficeConnect elements from cells, rows, or columns.\n"
tags: ["reporting","fpna","system-admin","troubleshoot"]
date: "0001-01-01"
lastmod: "2026-05-19"
---


When you clear cells in a Workday OfficeConnect report with Excel's normal delete, the element metadata can linger and confuse later refreshes — so use OfficeConnect's own clear command instead. For the related move and copy workflows, see [Cut, Copy & Move Elements](/wiki/build-reports/cut-copy-move-elements/).

**Question:** How do I remove OfficeConnect elements from a range of cells?

## Steps

{{< step n="1" title="Select the row, column, or cell" >}}
Select the area where the element is applied. For best results, select the entire row or column (not just individual cells within it).
{{< /step >}}

{{< step n="2" title="Right-click and choose Clear Design Elements" >}}
From the right-click context menu, select **OfficeConnect → Clear Design Elements**.
{{< /step >}}

## What gets cleared

- The OfficeConnect element metadata is removed from the selection
- The cells become plain Excel cells — no longer linked to Adaptive Planning
- **Labels** you added remain in place (they're plain text, not elements)
- The visual contents of the cells remain until you delete them manually or the next refresh would have populated them

## Remove elements from multiple locations

To remove elements from several rows or columns at once:

{{< step n="3" title="Select multiple rows or columns" >}}
Hold **Ctrl** and click each row number or column letter to build your selection.
{{< /step >}}

{{< step n="4" title="Right-click any selected row or column" >}}
Right-click any of the highlighted rows or columns.
{{< /step >}}

{{< step n="5" title="Select Clear Design Elements" >}}
Choose **OfficeConnect → Clear Design Elements** from the context menu.
{{< /step >}}

## Find all instances of an element first

If you want to find everywhere a specific element is used before removing it:

{{< step n="1" title="Click Find in the OfficeConnect ribbon" >}}
From the OfficeConnect ribbon, click **Find** (in the Find drop-down).
{{< /step >}}

{{< step n="2" title="Search for the element" >}}
Enter the element name in the search field.
{{< /step >}}

{{< step n="3" title="Use Find All to see all instances" >}}
Click **Find All** to see every location the element appears across the workbook.
{{< /step >}}

Then clear each one individually or use **Replace** to swap it with a different element.

## Next steps

- [Review & Verify Applied Elements](/wiki/build-reports/review-applied-elements/) to confirm the right elements were cleared
- [Add Elements to Rows, Columns & Cells](/wiki/build-reports/add-elements/) to re-apply elements after a clean-up
- [Cut, Copy & Move Elements](/wiki/build-reports/cut-copy-move-elements/) for relocating rather than removing elements