There are general, indentation, and spacing options available in the Paragraph dialog box options. Often times we group and hide columns, or expand, so I'd like it to be dynamic. Place the cursor at the beginning of the line you want to indent (well do it with the second one). You typically want to use subscripts and superscripts for individual characters in a cell. You can indent to the left or to the right in a cell. To indent the first line of a paragraph, put your cursor at the beginning of the paragraph and press the tab key. You can help keep this site running by allowing ads on MrExcel.com. Indents the paragraph on the right by the amount you choose. For our example, we will select rows 3, 4, and 5. I know the manual way, by using alt enter for each line, but is there a way to do it with VBA script, etc.? You can position text and numbers, change the orientation and specify text control in cells by using the Alignment tab in the Format Cells dialog box. There is a button to do that right there in the ribbon, and you can also use a keyboard shortcut (if you are more comfortable with that). 4. This is useful for lining up negative and positive values in different cells of the same column. To indent individual lines of text, use the space bar to insert the desired space. What makes this automatic? 2. Select the second tab 'Alignment' and set the orientation to 45 degrees. Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. Press Alt+Enter to insert the line break. If you prefer using the mouse instead, Excel has the options in the ribbon where you can indent with a click on a button. For example, if you have a narrow column and you type a long string of digits like 123456789, the cell might instead display something like 1.2E+08. Choose Collapsed by default if you want the document to open with headings collapsed by default. More info about Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, Description of Office features that are intended to enable collaboration and that are not intended to increase security. These sections are separated by semicolons. Step Two - Resize the left column to the desired amount of indentation. Sometimes, however, you need to indent the second line of the sentence or paragraph while leaving the first line flush with . 6 space characters). Display the minute as a number with a leading zero when appropriate. Here are the keyboard shortcuts for indentation. Select Right to align text to the right with a ragged left edge ( + R). Right-click and select Format Cells. Click the Home tab.3. Home How to Indent in Excel (3 Easy Ways + Keyboard Shortcut). Summary. Microsoft Excel lets you add an indent to an entire cell, as well as to a specific line within a cell. Under Text alignment, you control the horizontal, vertical alignment and indention. Daniel Smith is automation consultant with a passion for technology, data, AI, and machine learning. You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Communityor get support in the Answers community. How to Lock Cells in Excel Protecting Excel Worksheets, How To Wrap Text In Excel (2 Easy Ways + Shortcut), How to Count Number of Characters in Excel (3 Easy Ways), How to Rotate Cell Text in Excel (2 Easy Ways + Shortcuts), How To Remove Extra Spaces In Excel (5 Super Easy Ways), How to Apply Accounting Number Format in Excel, Indent Option in the Format Cells Dialog Box, How to Highlight Every Other Row in Excel, VBA Substring How to Substring in Excel VBA, VBA For, For Each, Do While & Do Until Loops. Weve just returned the table to its original look without taking our fingers off the keyboard. Add a hanging indent. A single underline is placed under each character in the cell. While your cell is selected, in Excel's ribbon at the top, click the "Home" tab. Alignment deals with text alignment so that's the first give-away. To start a new line of text or add spacing between lines or paragraphs of text in a worksheet cell, press Alt+Enter to insert a line break. If the format contains AM or PM, then the hour is based on the 12-hour clock. This is essentially resetting the cell formatting to defaults. Step Three - Paste the cell formatting. Select one or more cells you want to indent (B4:B13). Type the desired text. To shade cells with patterns, follow these steps: If you do not select a pattern color, the pattern is black. Select Wrap Text to wrap the text in the selected cell. Why dont we start with inserting a line break? If you are working with a formula that returns a time where the number of minutes exceeds 60, use a number format similar to [mm]:ss. 2. Here are the steps for this: One down. Cells formatted as text will treat anything typed into the cell as text, including numbers. You can access and modify the majority of these settings in the Format Cells dialog box (on the Format menu, click Cells). And thats all. Autofit row height on select merged cells, Add multiple lines with a vbTab on outlook .body. By default, all worksheet cells are formatted with the General number format. To begin a new paragraph, typically you tab before typing, creating an indent on the first line. Indent achieved! If you want to display a character that is different than one of these symbols, precede the character with a backslash () or enclose the character in quotation marks (" "). For more information about the Office features that help enable collaboration, see Description of Office features that are intended to enable collaboration and that are not intended to increase security . Step One - Select your column. You can also right-click the cells to launch the Format Cells window, where you'll find the option to manually adjust your indentation settings. Choose First line > By to indent the first line of a paragraph. Select the style of the date from the Type list box. Microsoft Excel lets you change many of the ways it displays data in a cell. Choose the account you want to sign in with. Suppose you have a dataset as shown below and you want to indent all the lines after the first line. Select First line to indent the first line of a paragraph, and then specify the size of the indent in By. You can prevent any of the number types (positive, negative, zero) from being displayed by not typing symbols in the corresponding section. We have a great community of people providing Excel help here, but the hosting costs are enormous. Bad news: you cannot do it using the methods described above because the indentation will automatically apply to the whole cell. To start a new line when the Wrap Text option is selected, press ALT+ENTER while typing in the formula bar. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly. There are three types of typefaces you can use, as described in the following table: After you select a typeface in the Font list, the Size list displays the available point sizes. Elapsed time, in minutes. Yes, we are alone in this; do note how the indent command buttons gray out when we need them. To quickly double space your entire document, see Double space lines in a document. A comma following a placeholder scales the number by a thousand. So, if you have multiple lines in the same cell, all the lines would be indented. The "More Information" section of this article provides information about each of the settings available in the Format Cells dialog box and how each of these settings can affect the way your data is presented. The Locked and Hidden settings enable specific collaboration scenarios to function correctly in collaboration environments that do not include users who have malicious intent. The indentation will be removed. Thats all there is to it, but now lets deal with the second column that contains numbers. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer. 1. Double click on the cell and manually insert spaces at the beginning of each line break. Display the month as a number with a leading zero when appropriate. If you turn on this option (and the worksheet is protected) the formula in a cell does not appear in the formula bar. Recommended Reading: How to Highlight Every Other Row in Excel. ExcelTrick.com offers a variety of resources to help users improve their Excel skills. The following sections describe the settings available in each tab. Choose Dont add space between paragraphs when you dont want extra space between paragraphs. Depending on the font size and style, two or three space characters may be equal to one indent. Follow the steps given below. Scientific format. Alphabetical letters are usually assigned to columns and numbers are usually assigned to rows. You must have more than one line of wrapped text to see the justification. If you go too far, select the "Decrease Indent" icon (back-facing arrow) to move the text back toward the left. Select the cell you want to indent. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Notice it's not spaces. Follows the same rules as the 0 symbol except Excel places a space for insignificant zeros on either side of the decimal point so that decimal points are aligned in the column. For example, setting line spacing to 1.15 will increase the space by 15 percent, and setting line spacing to 3 increases the space by 300 percent (triple spacing). Applies a border with the currently selected style and color to all vertical sides in the interior of the currently selected group of cells. Select the cells to which you want to apply shading. Use your mouse to double-click or press F2. Awesome! Press Alt+Enter to insert the line break. If you try to indent both columns at the same time, the data in column C will automatically become aligned to the left. Display the minute as a number without a leading zero. Display the month as an abbreviation (Jan-Dec). Options include: the number of decimal places, the symbol used for the currency, and the format to be used for negative numbers. For example, the custom format 0.0? Mahesh Makvana is a freelance tech writer who specializes in writing how-to guides. If blank cells to the right also have the Fill alignment, they are filled as well. 18. At the bottom of the dialog box, the Preview box shows you how the options look before you apply them. You can return the background color formatting for the selected cells to their default state by clicking No Color. The list of choices in the Font Style list varies depending on the font that is selected in the Font list. Use the Font tab in the Format Cells dialog box to control these settings. When you choose this, Left and Right become Inside and Outside. Below are the steps to indent using the ribbon options: Note that the indentation is applied to the entire cell content. The only option is the number of decimal places. If you type a number in the Size box that is not in the Size list, you see the following text at the bottom of the Font tab: "This font's size is not installed on the system. Step Two - Copy the cells. This button is unavailable (dimmed) if a single cell is selected. Trick I find: You can also adjust the spacing if you find the rows of text too tight together. If the data is centered, it automatically becomes right-aligned and then is indented from the left. This format lines up the currency symbols and decimal points in a column of data. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Vertical alignment would be preformed with a centered vertical alignment and row height adjustment. We do recommend blasting on some music to kill the monotony of this option. TrumpExcel.com Free Online Excel Training, If you need to change the indentation quite often, you can also add the indent icons to the Quick Access Toolbar. Let's first have a look at the keyboard shortcut you can use to indent cell contents in Excel. Select the cells with the text to be indented. Click the "Wrap Text" icon. Double-click on the cell (well take B4 as an example) or click once and press the F2 key to enter editing mode. 5. Excel displays a number to the right of the "E" symbol that corresponds to the number of places the decimal point was moved. To customize the format, go to the Home tab and select Format cell, as shown below. Suppose you have a data set as shown below and you want to intend the numbers a little to the right. To quickly create a first line indent using the ruler, see Create a first line indent. How to Indent Cell Data Using the Ribbon. In the Ungroup dialog box, select Rows and click OK. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. This is why you will find the indent options in the alignment sections in Excel. This method takes a little bit longer than the others, but it can save you some time when you need to apply several formatting settings at once. As a storytelling enthusiast with a penchant for technology, they hope to create long-lasting connections with readers from all around the globe. The values in the cells will use the General Alignment, which differs based on the data type of the cell. This feature is helpful when you want to avoid changing the column width for the entire column. This, however, can be done with a work-around that is not very elegant. For what it's worth, you can indent more or less than a certain number of space characters by doing it manually, just trying to find the brighter side to this. Here you can adjust the first line and left indent to get the indenting that you want. When you select Automatically adjust right indent when document grid is defined, the right indent is automatically adjusted for the paragraph when a document grid is defined. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/56\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-3-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-3-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/56\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-3-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-3-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot) License: Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-4-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-4-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-4-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-4-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/5e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/5e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c6\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c6\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":545,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/1e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-7-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-7-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/1e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-7-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-7-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/7e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-8-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-8-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-8-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-8-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/0e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-9-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-9-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/0e\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-9-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-9-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/d3\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-10-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-10-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/d3\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-10-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-10-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/6f\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-11-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-11-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/6f\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-11-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-11-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":545,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/9a\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-12-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-12-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/9a\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-12-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-12-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/7f\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-13-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-13-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7f\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-13-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-13-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, Indenting Individual Text Lines in a Cell, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3c\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-14-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-14-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3c\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-14-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-14-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/4d\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-15-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-15-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/4d\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-15-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-15-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/60\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-16-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-16-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/60\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-16-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-16-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-17-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-17-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-17-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-17-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
\n<\/p><\/div>"}, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/41\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-18-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-18-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/41\/Indent-in-Excel-Step-18-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Indent-in-Excel-Step-18-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"