Simple clear advice in plain English

Make your text fit properly in Excel cells

Organise cells containing lots of text in Excel

q-a-logo

If you have a cell in Excel with lots of text it can often be obscured by the cell to the right, or look messy.

My solution is to display the text on multiple lines and make the cell higher. Select the cell or cells, left-click on the Format menu and then on Cells.

When the Format Cells window appears, click on the Alignment tab. Click in the box labelled Wrap text so a tick appears and then click on OK.

One alternative is to select the option Shrink to fit that changes the font size so the text fits. Be careful though because this can make the text so small that it cannot be read.

Alternatively try changing the font to one that is narrower than the default Arial. There is a variant of Arial designed for this very task called Arial Narrow.

To increase the height of the cell, move the mouse to the bottom of the row number so it changes from an arrow and double-click.
Mike Hallam

Baffled by jargon? See our free online jargon buster

Reader Comments

   

Add your comment

All fields must be completed. Your email address will not be displayed or used to send marketing messages.

All messages will be checked by moderators before appearing on the site.

See our Privacy Policy for more information.

Related articles

Tips for Word illustration

Get the best out of Microsoft Word

Unless you've had a training course on Word, you probably know and use only a small percentage of its capabilities. Here are 10 top features for you to try out

Using Wizard to create a form

Create a good Base for your data

Databases may sound very dreary but they are behind almost everything we do. We explain how to go about starting one of your own using Libre Office Base

Word's undo feature

How to fix common PC errors

It’s easy to hit the wrong key when using a PC and throw yourself into a panic. There's no need to worry - we have easy fixes for 30 common everyday errors

Question & Answer

Q.Why are some of the keys on my keyboard doing strange...

> Read the answer

Q.Is my phone’s Bluetooth any use?

> Read the answer

Q.Can I switch boot drives so that I can work on older...

> Read the answer

Best deals on the web

img

Samsung RV520-A07

£359.98- Buy it now

img

Acer Aspire 5750G (LX.RXP02.019)

£399.99- Buy it now

img

Apple MacBook Pro (MD313B/A)

£904.37- Buy it now

Latest issue & subscription deals

Poll

Are you concerned about viruses that target mobile phones?

Jargon Buster

Computing terms explained in plain English

CAD

Computer Aided Design. Software used to create 3D models.

Great shopping deals from Computeractive