How to Easily Wrap Text in Excel Using Shortcuts?

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Are you tired of seeing long text spilling out of Excel cells, making your spreadsheet look messy and hard to read? Wrapping text is the solution, allowing text to take up multiple lines within a single cell. In this article, we’ll show you the shortcut to wrap text in Excel, along with other methods and tips for working with wrapped text.

Why Wrap Text in Excel?

Before diving into how to wrap text, let’s discuss why you might want to do this:

1. Improve readability of long text entries
2. Prevent text from overflowing into adjacent cells
3. Make spreadsheets look cleaner and more professional
4. Avoid having to manually adjust row heights

Wrapping text keeps your spreadsheets tidy and easy to understand at a glance. It’s especially useful when working with large amounts of descriptive data, such as comments, notes, or long product names. By allowing text to wrap within cells, you can keep your columns at a manageable width while still displaying all the necessary information.

The Shortcut to Wrap Text in Excel

The quickest way to wrap text in an Excel cell is by using a keyboard shortcut:

1. Select the cell or range of cells you want to wrap
2. Press ALT + H + W (press one key at a time)

That’s it! The text will now wrap within the selected cell(s). This shortcut works in all recent versions of Excel for Windows, including Excel 2007, Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016, Excel 2019, and Excel for Microsoft 365.

Shortcut for Excel on Mac

If you’re using Excel on a Mac, the wrap text shortcut is slightly different:

1. Select the cell or range of cells
2. Press ⌘ + Option + W

The text will now wrap in the selected cells. This shortcut applies to Excel for Mac 2011, Excel for Mac 2016, Excel for Mac 2019, and Excel for Microsoft 365.

Other Ways to Wrap Text

In addition to the handy keyboard shortcuts, there are a few other ways to apply text wrapping in Excel:

Using the Ribbon

1. Select the cell(s) you want to format
2. Go to the Home tab on the Excel ribbon
3. In the Alignment group, click the Wrap Text button (it looks like a paragraph with arrows pointing down)

This method is useful if you prefer working with the mouse or if you’re not yet comfortable with keyboard shortcuts.

Using the Format Cells Dialog Box

For more control over cell formatting, you can use the Format Cells dialog box:

1. Select the cell(s) you want to format
2. Right-click on the selected cell(s) and choose Format Cells… from the context menu (or press Ctrl + 1 on Windows or ⌘ + 1 on Mac)
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, go to the Alignment tab
4. Under Text Control, check the box next to Wrap text
5. Click OK to apply the formatting and close the dialog box

Using the Format Cells dialog box allows you to access all the text alignment and control options in one place, which can be helpful when you’re making multiple formatting changes at once.

Adjusting Row Height for Wrapped Text

After wrapping text, you may notice that it doesn’t all fit within the default row height. This can cause the wrapped text to appear cut off or make the row height inconsistent with the rest of your spreadsheet. To fix this, you can automatically adjust the row height to accommodate the wrapped text:

1. Select the row(s) you want to adjust
2. Double-click the bottom border of any selected row header

Excel will automatically fit the row height to display all the wrapped text within the cells. This ensures that your spreadsheet looks neat and professional, with no clipped or hidden text.

You can also manually adjust the row height by clicking and dragging the bottom border of the row header to your desired height. This gives you more precise control over the appearance of your spreadsheet, allowing you to fine-tune the row heights to your liking.

Unwrapping Text

If you change your mind and want to remove text wrapping from a cell or range of cells, it’s just as easy as applying it:

1. Select the cell(s) with wrapped text
2. Press ALT + H + W to toggle wrapping off (or ⌘ + Option + W on a Mac)

This will cause the text to revert to a single line within the cell, and any excess text will overflow into the adjacent cell(s) if they are empty.

You can also unwrap text by following the other methods outlined above (using the ribbon or the Format Cells dialog box) and unchecking the “Wrap text” option.

Wrapping Text vs. Merging Cells

Another way to handle long text entries in Excel is by merging cells. Merging allows you to combine two or more adjacent cells into a single larger cell, which can accommodate longer text without overflowing.

However, merging cells has some significant drawbacks compared to wrapping text:

In most cases, wrapping text is preferable to merging cells. Wrapping maintains the integrity and usability of your data while still allowing for neat, readable presentation of long text entries.

Tips for Working with Wrapped Text

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using wrapped text in Excel:

1. Wrap Before Entering Data

If you know a column will contain long entries that will require wrapping, apply the wrapping format before entering your data. This saves you from having to go back and adjust row heights later, and ensures that your text will wrap consistently as you enter it.

2. Use ALT + Enter for Line Breaks

Within a wrapped cell, you can insert manual line breaks to control exactly where the text wraps. To do this, press ALT + Enter (or Option + Return on a Mac) at the point where you want to start a new line. This can be helpful for creating a more visually appealing layout or for separating distinct pieces of information within a single cell.

3. Center Across Selection for Headers

When using wrapped text for column headers, you may want to center the header text across the column for a polished, professional look. To do this:

1. Select the header row
2. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon
3. In the Alignment group, click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner to open the Alignment Settings dialog box
4. Under Text alignment, choose Center Across Selection
5. Click OK to apply the centering

This will keep your header text neatly centered even if your columns are different widths.

4. Adjust Print Settings for Wrapped Text

When printing a spreadsheet that contains wrapped text, it’s important to check the print preview to ensure that everything fits properly on the page. Depending on the amount and length of your wrapped text, you may need to:

• Adjust column widths to accommodate the wrapped text
• Change the page orientation to Landscape to fit more columns on a single page
• Scale the printout to fit more content on each page

Taking a moment to tweak your print settings can make a big difference in the readability and professionalism of your printed spreadsheets.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to quickly wrap text in Excel is an essential skill for creating tidy, easily readable spreadsheets. The ALT + H + W shortcut (or ⌘ + Option + W on a Mac) is a real timesaver, and the other methods provide flexibility for different working styles and preferences.

By wrapping text, adjusting row heights, and following the tips outlined in this article, you’ll be able to create professional-looking spreadsheets that effectively convey your data without sacrificing clarity or usability. Mastering this simple technique will save you time and frustration, and help you communicate your information more effectively to colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.

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Vaishvi Desai

Vaishvi Desai is the founder of Excelsamurai and a passionate Excel enthusiast with years of experience in data analysis and spreadsheet management. With a mission to help others harness the power of Excel, Vaishvi shares her expertise through concise, easy-to-follow tutorials on shortcuts, formulas, Pivot Tables, and VBA.