Text spilling across neighbouring columns makes a sheet look unfinished. Wrap Text keeps long labels tidy inside their own cell, and the KeyTip sequence does it without breaking your flow.
Alt+HthenW
Step by step
- Select the cells you want to wrap.
- Press Alt, then H to show the Home tab KeyTips.
- Press W to turn Wrap Text on. The row height grows to fit the text.
- Press Alt, H, W again to turn it off.
Tips & troubleshooting
- To choose exactly where a line breaks, edit the cell and press Alt+Enter at that point.
- If the row doesn't resize, double-click the row border to auto-fit it.
Wrap, shrink or widen?
Long text in a narrow cell can be handled three ways, and each suits a different job.
- Wrap Text keeps the column width and makes the row taller. Best for descriptions and comments.
- Shrink to Fit keeps both width and height and reduces the font size instead. Press Ctrl+1 and tick it on the Alignment tab. Fine for the odd long heading, but hard to read if overused.
- AutoFit widens the column to the longest entry. Press Alt, H, O, I, or double-click the right edge of the column header.
When the row won't grow
- The row height was set manually. Once you drag a row to a specific height, Excel stops adjusting it. Press Alt, H, O, A to AutoFit Row Height.
- The cell is merged. Rows with merged cells never auto-fit; set the height by hand or use Centre Across Selection instead of merging.
- The text is a number or date. Wrap Text only applies to text. A number too wide for its column shows ##### until you widen the column.
Control where the lines break
Wrap Text breaks lines wherever the column width dictates. For a break at an exact point, edit the cell and press Alt+Enter where you want the new line. Adjusting the column width is the other lever: a slightly wider column can turn four ragged lines into two neat ones.
On a Mac and in Excel for the web
Ribbon KeyTips are a Windows feature. On a Mac and on the web, select the cells and click Wrap Text on the Home tab.