How to Fit a Paragraph Into a Row in Excel
By C. Taylor
Excel 2013 automatically displays lengthy text entries over adjacent cells, assuming no other data exists in these cells. However, this behavior could extend the text outside the visible area of the worksheet and any adjacent data added to the spreadsheet could truncate the paragraph. Employing one or more options can force the paragraph to fit in the row without worrying that subsequent data will conceal part of your text. Of these options, allowing text wrap and merging adjacent cells potentially offer the most benefit.
Step 1
Click and drag your mouse over the cells in which you want the paragraph displayed. Although you'll eventually make the paragraph span multiple lines, only select cells in a single row. As an example, you might drag to select cells A2 through G2.
Step 2
Click the "Merge & Center" drop-down arrow from the Home tab's Alignment group and select "Merge Cells." This action creates one large cell out of the selected cells.
Step 3
Click the "Wrap Text" button in the Home tab's Alignment group to allow text to automatically wrap within the newly merged cell. However, you may need to adjust the row height to accommodate this feature.
Step 4
Move your mouse cursor over the row's divider line, located just under the left row number. When your cursor turns into a line with upper and lower arrows, click and drag your mouse to increase the row height.
References
Tips
- If you want greater control over how the text wraps, place your cursor before a word in the paragraph and press "Alt-Enter" to force a line break.
- You may also benefit from adjusting text size by clicking the paragraph's cell and selecting a smaller font size from the Home tab's Font group.
Writer Bio
C. Taylor embarked on a professional writing career in 2009 and frequently writes about technology, science, business, finance, martial arts and the great outdoors. He writes for both online and offline publications, including the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Samsung, Radio Shack, Motley Fool, Chron, Synonym and more. He received a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences at College of Charleston. He also holds minors in statistics, physics and visual arts.