Excel Basics:
Format Columns

Step-by-Step: Format Columns

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What you will learn:

to adjust column width with AutoFit to adjust column width by dragging to adjust column width with dialog

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Start with: trips2.xls (saved in previous lesson)

Column Width: AutoFit selection

You sometimes want a column to be wide enough for a particular cell's contents, but want other cells to wrap any longer lines in them. You will learn about the wrap command later.

1. Select cell A1,  World Travel Inc. 
    
2. From the menu select  Format  |  Column...  |  AutoFit Selection . The column is resized just wide enough to hold the text  World Travel Inc. 
   Note that cell A2 still overlaps its neighbor and several cells further down the sheet are cropped by the non-empty cells to the right.
    

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Column Width: AutoFit all

1. Move your pointer to the right edge of the heading of Column A until it changes to the Resize Column shape.
    
2. Press the left mouse button down. (Don't release it yet.)

   The popup tip appears, showing the current width of Column A.
    

   
3. Release the left mouse button and double-click in the same spot (the right edge of Column A's heading). The column width changes to display the longest text in any cell in the column as a single line.

    Sometimes you want text to wrap inside certain cells. For example a column of short numbers might have a label that is several words long, like  Number of People . If you don't wrap such a label, there will be a lot of white space around the short numbers below it.

    Be careful when you set a column's width with AutoFit. The column may wind up wider than you expected. Any text will be on a single line in its cell. No matter how long the text is! If you accidentally find you've widened a cell out of sight to the right, use Undo. (Such a wonderful invention!) Then resize the column with another method.

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Column Width: Drag

Dragging is a natural method of adjusting column width. But since you can't see the change until you release the mouse button, it may take you several attempts to get a satisfactory width.

1. Move the pointer to the right edge of column heading B.
    
2. When the pointer changes to the Resize Column shape, drag to the right until  New Zealand  shows entirely.

   Since column is not resized until you release the mouse button, you may need several tries to get the width right. (The popup tip in the illustration is a big hint!)
    

3. Click and hold again on the right edge of Column B to see the new width.
   

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Column Width: Dialog

1. Select a cell in Column C.
    
2. Choose  Format  |  Column...  |  Width...  The Column Width dialog appears.
   
   
3. Type a new width of 9 and click OK. Now Column C is just large enough to hold the label # of People.
   

   Note that these 9 characters and 2 spaces fit in the width of 9 average characters. It takes some practice to make good guesses for widths.

   When you are having trouble dragging to get the width you need, use the dialog to set an exact width. This dialog is also good to use when you want several columns to be the same width.
    

4. Save As  trips3.xls .
   How to handle a full disk