Do you get tired of adjusting column widths to fit what you think is your longest entry only to discover when you scroll down that the column needs to be wider? Excel makes it easy to adjust your columns widths or row heights to match your data.

Let’s start with the simplest example. If you want to adjust the width of a single column, (we’ll use column B as an example) place your mouse pointer between the column headings for columns B and C. When you have it in the right spot, your pointer will change to a double-headed arrow. Double click and column B will automatically adjust to fit the data in that column. An alternative method is to click the column heading to select the entire column, then click the Format button on the Home tab of the ribbon, then choose AutoFit Column Width.

If you want to adjust multiple columns once, click and drag on the column headings to select those columns. You can also Ctrl+click to add or remove columns from your selection. Or to select the entire worksheet, click the grey square at the top left corner of the grid (to the left of column heading A and above row heading 1.) Then click the Format button and choose AutoFit Column Width, or position your mouse pointer on the right edge of any of the selected columns and double click. Each selected column will be adjusted to match the widest contents of that column.

What if you want to adjust the column width based on a specific cell, even if it’s not the widest? Obviously you could adjust the column width manually, but you can still use AutoFit. Select the cell in each column you want to fit the columns to. They could be all on the same row, or on different rows. Then click the Format button and choose AutoFit Column Width. Each column will be adjusted to match the contents to the selected cell in that column. If you still need to display text that is wider than your column you can turn on text wrapping.

All of these methods also work for adjusting row height. Position your mouse pointer on the dividing line between the row you want to adjust and the row beneath it and double click. Or select the row(s), click the Format button and choose AutoFit Row Height


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