How to Text Wrap in Excel

Microsoft Excel offers a lot of features for formatting and presenting data effectively. One of them is the ability to wrap text within a cell, which can help you save space and make your worksheets look more organized. If you’re struggling with long text in Excel and want to learn how to text wrap in Excel the right way, you’re in the right place. In this post, we’ll explain everything you need to know about text wrapping in Excel, including the steps to follow and some handy tips to improve your results.

What is text wrapping in Excel?

Text wrapping is a formatting option available in Microsoft Excel that allows you to control how text is displayed within a cell. When you enable text wrapping, Excel will force the text to fit into a specified width and height of the cell, breaking it into multiple lines if necessary.

How to text wrap in Excel?

Method 1: Using Wrap Text option

The easiest way to wrap text in Excel is by using the Wrap Text option. Here’s how:

1. Click on the cell(s) you want to wrap text in.
2. Right-click on the selected cell(s) and choose “Format Cells”.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, select the “Alignment” tab.
4. Check the “Wrap text” box and click “OK”.

Method 2: Using ALT+Enter shortcut

Alternatively, you can use the ALT+Enter shortcut to force a line break within a cell. Here’s how:

1. Click on the cell where you want to add line breaks.
2. Type the text that should appear above the line break.
3. Press ALT+Enter to add the line break.
4. Type the text that should appear below the line break.

Formatting tips for text wrapping in Excel

As with any formatting feature, there are some tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of text wrapping in Excel:

• Use column width to control the amount of text that wraps within a cell
• Avoid using text wrapping for large amounts of text, as it can make the cell difficult to read
• Reserve text wrapping for cells that contain short pieces of text, such as headings or labels
• Combine text wrapping with other formatting features, such as cell borders or background colors, to make your worksheet more visually appealing

Dealing with overflow errors

If your text doesn’t fit in the cell even after enabling text wrapping and increasing the height of the cell, you will get an overflow error. An overflow error indicates that the cell is not large enough to display the entire contents of the cell. To fix this error, you can try one of the following:

• Decrease the font size of the text in the cell.
• Increase the width of the cell so that the text can fit within the cell.
• An amalgamation of the above two steps until the text fits within the cell.

Copying text wrapped cells in Excel

If you want to copy text that contains wrapped text to another cell or worksheet, you can use the “Paste Special” option. Here’s how:

1. Select the cell(s) containing the wrapped text
2. Copy the selected text by pressing CTRL+C or right-click and select “Copy”
3. Right-click on the cell where you want to paste the copied text and select “Paste Special”
4. In the Paste Special dialog box, check the “Values” option and click “OK”

This will paste the text as values only, without the text wrap formatting. You can then apply text wrap formatting again if necessary.

Wrapping up

Text wrapping is a powerful tool that can help you manage your data more efficiently and make your worksheets look more professional. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should now be able to wrap text in Excel without difficulty and enjoy the benefits of easier-to-read and better-presented data.

FAQ

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about text wrapping in Excel:

Can I wrap text within multiple cells at the same time?

Yes, you can select multiple cells and wrap the text within all of them at the same time. Simply select the cells you want to wrap, right-click on any of the selected cells, and click “Format Cells”. From there, follow the same steps outlined in the blog post to enable text wrapping.

Can I wrap text horizontally in Excel?

No, text wrapping only works for vertical orientation. If you want to display long text horizontally, consider rotating the text 90 degrees counterclockwise. You can do this by selecting the cell, right-clicking, selecting “Format Cells”, and selecting the “Alignment” tab. Then, check the “Orientation” box and choose “Rotate text up” or “Rotate text down”.

Can I print cells with text wrapping?

Yes, you can print cells with text wrapping. Excel will automatically adjust the printed text to fit the width of the page. However, keep in mind that if you’re printing cells with a lot of wrapped text, the result may be difficult to read. It’s best to reserve text wrapping for short pieces of text, such as labels or headings.

I want to add line breaks within a sentence in a cell. How can I do that?

To add line breaks within a sentence in a cell, you can use the ALT+Enter shortcut. Simply type the text you want to display above the line break, press ALT+Enter to insert the line break, and then type the text you want to display below the line break.

Can text wrap be adjusted according to the contents of a cell?

No, text wrap cannot be adjusted automatically based on the contents of a cell. You can set a fixed row and column height to control how much text is displayed, or use the Wrap Text option to break the text into multiple lines within a cell.