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To add spacing between lines or paragraphs of text in a cell, use a keyboard shortcut to add a new line.
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Double-click the cell in which you want to insert a line break
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Click the location where you want to break the line.
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Press ALT+ENTER to insert the line break.
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A line break in Excel can be used to end the current line and start a new line in the same cell (as shown below).
Notice that in the pic above, Morning is in the second row in the same cell.
You may want to insert a line break in Excel when you have multiple parts of a text string that you want to show in separate lines. A good example of this could be when you have an address and you want to show each part of the address in a separate line (as shown below).
In this tutorial, I will show you a couple of ways to insert a line break in Excel (also called the in-cell carriage return in Excel)
Inserting a Line Break Using a Keyboard Shortcut
If you only need to add a couple of line breaks, you can do this manually by using a keyboard shortcut.
Here is how to insert a line break using a keyboard shortcut:
- Double-click on the cell in which you want to insert the line break (or press F2). This will get you into the edit mode in the cell
- Place the cursor where you want the line break.
- Use the keyboard shortcut – ALT + ENTER (hold the ALT key and then press Enter).
The above steps would insert a line break right where you had placed the cursor. Now you can continue to write in the cell and whatever you type will be placed in the next line.
Note that you need the cell to be in the ‘Wrap text’ mode to see the content appear in the next line. In case it’s is not applied, you will see all the text in a single cell (even if you have the line break). ‘Wrap Text’ option is available in the Home tab in the ribbon.
The keyboard shortcut is a quick way to add a line break if you only have to do this for a few cells. But if you have to do this a lot of cells, you can use the other methods covered later in this tutorial.
Inserting Line Breaks Using Formulas
You can add a line break as a part of the formula result.
This can be useful when you have different cells that you want to combine and add a line break so that each part is in a different line.
Below is an example where I have used a formula to combined different parts of an address and have added a line break in each part.
Below is the formula that adds a line break within the formula result:
=A2&CHAR(10)&B2&(CHAR(10)&C2)
The above formula uses CHAR(10) to add the line break as a part of the result. CHAR(10) uses the ASCII code which returns a line feed. By placing the line feed where you want the line break, we are forcing the formula to break the line in the formula result.
You can also use the CONCAT formula instead of using the ampersand (&) symbol:
=CONCAT(A2,CHAR(10),B2,CHAR(10),C2)
or the old CONCATENATE formula in case you’re using older versions of Excel and don’t have CONCAT
=CONCATENATE(A2,CHAR(10),B2,CHAR(10),C2)
And in case you are using Excel 2016 or prior versions, you can use the below TEXTJOIN formula (which is a better way to join cells/ranges)
=TEXTJOIN(CHAR(10),TRUE,A2:C2)
Note that in order to get the line break visible in the cell, you need to make sure that ‘Wrap Text’ is enabled. If the Wrap Text is NOT applied, adding Char(10) would make no changes in the formula result.
Note: If you are using Mac, use Char(13) instead of Char(10).
Using Define Name Instead of Char(10)
If you need to use Char(10) or Char(13) often, a better way would be to assign a name to it by creating a defined name. This way, you can use a shortcode instead of typing the entire CHAR(10) in the formula.
Below are the steps to create a named range for CHAR(10)
Now you can use LB instead of =CHAR(10).
So the formula to combine address can now be:
=A2&LB&B2&LB&C2
Using Find and Replace (the CONTROL J Trick)
This is a super cool trick!
Suppose you have a dataset as shown below and you want to get a line break wherever there is a comma in the address.
If you want to insert a line break wherever there is a comma in the address, you can do that using the FIND and REPLACE dialog box.
Below are the steps to replace the comma with a line break:
- Select the cells in which you want to replace the comma with a line break
- Click the Home tab
- In the Editing group, click on Find and Select and then click on Replace (you can also use the keyboard shortcut Control + H). This will open the Find and Replace dialog box.
- In the Find and Replace dialog box, enter comma (,) in the Find What field.
- Place the cursor in the Replace Field and then use the keyboard shortcut – CONTROL + J (hold the Control key and then press J). This will insert the line feed in the field. You may be able to see a blinking dot in the field after you use Control + J
- Click on Replace ALL.
- Make sure Wrap text is enabled.
The above steps remove the comma and replace it with the line feed.
Note that if you use the keyboard shortcut Control J twice, this will insert the line feed (carriage return) two times and you will have a gap of two lines in between sentences.
You can also use the same steps if you want to remove all the line breaks and replace it will a comma (or any other character). Just reverse the ‘Find What’ and ‘Replace with’ entries.
You may also like the following Excel tutorials:
- Insert a watermark in Excel.
- Excel AUTOFIT: Make Rows/Columns Fit the Text Automatically
- Insert Picture in an Excel Cell.
- Add Bullet Points In Excel
- Insert a Check Mark Symbol in Excel
- 200+ Excel Keyboard Shortcuts.
- How to Create Named Ranges in Excel
What is a Line Break in Excel Cell?
Line break in Excel means inserting a new line in any cell value. Simply pressing the “Enter” key can take us to the next cell. We can use the keyboard shortcut, “ALT + Enter,” to insert a new line inside a cell to insert a line break. As we insert a line break, the cell’s height also increases as it represents the data in the cell.
Table of contents
- What is a Line Break in Excel Cell?
- How to Insert Line Break in Excel Cell?
- Method #1 – Line Break with Excel Formula (& Function)
- Method #2 – Line Break with Excel Formula (Concatenate)
- Method #3 – Line Break in Excel Cell (Conventional way)
- Things to Remember
- Recommended Articles
- How to Insert Line Break in Excel Cell?
How to Insert Line Break in Excel Cell?
- Concatenate Function in excelThe CONCATENATE function in Excel helps the user concatenate or join two or more cell values which may be in the form of characters, strings or numbers.read more.
- AND function
- Use of Alt + Enter Method.
You can download this Line Break Excel Template here – Line Break Excel Template
Method #1 – Line Break with Excel Formula (& Function)
Suppose we have the name, phone number, and department name in a column. We want them in a single cell combined, but a line separates all three. The data is as follows:
We want all the three data combined in one column D column and want each data to be separated by a line. We will learn the method of using the AND function in this example. But, first, we need to understand what a CHAR function is. Char function in excelThe character function in Excel, also known as the char function, identifies the character based on the number or integer accepted by the computer language. For example, the number for character «A» is 65, so if we use =char(65), we get A.read more: returns the character specified by our computer, a specific code.
Char(10) returns a line break in the cell.
Below are the steps of inserting line break in Excel:
- Now, we need to wrap the text D column to see all the data in the D column.
- Select the blank cells opposite to the data in the D column.
- Click on the Excel Wrap Text in the Alignment section of the Home tab.
- Now in cell D2, we must write the following formula:
- Now, press the Enter key to see the result.
- We currently do not see the whole data; we need to expand the row by clicking on the expand row button by hovering our mouse between the two cells, A2 and A3.
- Now, drag the formula to cell D6.
We can see that we have successfully inserted a line break in cells using the AND formula.
Method #2 – Line Break with Excel Formula (Concatenate)
In the above example, we used the AND formula to insert a line break in a cell. We will learn to insert a line break in the cell using the CONCATENATE function. But first, what is a CONCATENATE function? The CONCATENATE function joins several strings or numbers, or values into a single string.
Also, we know what a CHAR function does, but for our revision, let us look again at what a char function does. The CHAR function returns the character specified by our computer, a specific code.
The CHAR(10) inserts a line break in a cell. Now, have a look at the below data:
We have a house number, street name, locality, and city in columns A, B, C, and D. Like we fill out forms, it is the same. However, we want the combined address in the E column. We will use the CONCATENATE formula and the CHAR function to insert a line break in the cell.
- Step #1 – First, we need to wrap the text to see all the data.
- Step #2 – Select all the cells parallel to data in the E column.
- Step #3 – Now, click on “Wrap text” under the “Alignment” section in the “Home” tab.
- Step #4 – In cell E2, we must write the following formula:
- Step #5 – When we press the “Enter” key, we can see the following result:
- Step #6 – We currently do not see the whole data. We need to expand the row by clicking on the expand row button by hovering our mouse between the two cells, A2 and A3.
- Step #7 – Now, we must drag the formula to cell E8 and see the result.
We have successfully inserted a line break using the concatenate excel formulaThe CONCATENATE function in Excel helps the user concatenate or join two or more cell values which may be in the form of characters, strings or numbers.read more.
Method #3 – Line Break in Excel Cell (Conventional way)
We will use the last and the most convenient way of using a line break in a cell while working on data. We need to keep in mind that this method only works in a cell. For the next cell, we need to repeat the process. We cannot copy the same formula to other cells like a formula.
We will try to insert a line break in the sentence “I am a Boy” and insert a line break after every word.
- Step #1 – In any cell, double click on the cell or press the F2 button to get in the cell.
- Step #2 – Write I and press the “Alt + Enter” keys.
- Step #3 – We can see that it inserted a line break after I. Now, do this for every word.
- Step #4 – Press the “Enter” key and see the result.
We have successfully inserted a line break using the “Alt + Enter” method.
Things to Remember
There are a few things we need to remember in line breaks:
- To use AND and CONCATENATE functions, we must wrap text to view the whole data.
- We must expand the rows after wrapping the text.
- The CHAR (10) function inserts a line break.
- The “Alt + Enter” method works in a single cell. However, for it to work in another cell, we must repeat the process.
Recommended Articles
This article is a guide to Line Break in Excel Cell. We discuss how to insert a line break in Excel using 1) AND Formula, 2) CONCATENATE Formula, and 3) Alt + Enter method, along with practical examples and a downloadable template. You may learn more about Excel from the following articles: –
- BreakPoint in VBA
- Excel Concatenate Columns
- Concatenate Function in VBA
- Format Phone Numbers in Excel
Line Break in Excel (Table of Contents)
- Introduction to Line Break in Excel
- Methods to Insert Line Breaks
Introduction to Line Break in Excel
Actually, we do not think about line breaks while using them. They are used in many situations, like when we are writing an Email or posting something on social media or starting a new paragraph on MS Powerpoint or MS word, etc. They are easy to add in most programs, and for this, the only thing we have to do is press Enter on your keyboard. But this does not work in Excel. If we ever try to add a line break in Excel by pressing ENTER, we go to the next cell in our worksheet. It seems impossible. But do not worry about it.
Methods to Insert Line Breaks
Here, we have two methods to add line breaks in Excel.
- By using the keyboard shortcut
- By using formula
Method #1 – By Using Keyboard Shortcut
For this, double click the cell and then bring the cursor where you want to insert the line break. After this, use the keyboard shortcut ALT + ENTER.; this will add a line break to the right of the cursor. Here, we have a simple keyboard shortcut to add line breaks in any cell in Excel. Press Alt + Enter ( Ctrl + Option + Enter for Mac). This will automatically set Wrap Text ON for the cell.
In this example, we want the line break in cell A5. So, we double-click the cell and bring the cursor (after “a”) where we want the line break and press “ALT+ENTER.” Then we get a result.
Similarly, we can insert line breaks in any cell. For example, suppose we want to add a line break after the second “m” in cell A3.
For this, we have to double click the cell A3 and bring the cursor after the second “m,” then press Alt+Enter. Now, we have another example.
Here, we have inserted the line break after five digits of Mobile no. in cell C4. But when we have to do the same in many cells, this method is time-consuming and inefficient. In that case, we use a formula to add a line break.
Method #2 – By Using Formula
We cannot use a keyboard shortcut when we have to insert line breaks in many Excel cells. In this case, we have to use a formula to insert the line break.
Formula:
=”text”&CHAR(10)&”text”
We use the concatenation operator with the CHAR function in the above-written formula to add a line break. CHAR function returns the result based on the ASCII code, which is a character code. Here, we have some examples to explain the working of this formula.
In the example shown, we want to write the text from cell A2, B2, and C2 with line breaks in D2. For this, enable the Wrap Text first and then use the formula “=A2&CHAR(10)&B2&CHAR(10)&C2”.
The above-written formula glues the text in A2, B2, and C2 using the ampersand, the concatenation operator in MS Excel. We get the result.
In the example shown, we want to write the text from cell A3, B3, and C3 with line breaks in D3. For this, enable the Wrap Text first and then use the formula “=A3&CHAR(10)&B3&CHAR(10)&C3”.
Thus the character function in this formula combines the text that appears in A3, B3, and C3. We get the result.
In this example shown, we want to write the text from cell A4, B4, and C4 with line breaks in D4. For this, enable the Wrap Text first and then use the formula “=A4&CHAR(10)&B4&CHAR(10)&C4”.
Thus the character function in this formula combines the text that appears in A4, B4, and C4, and we get the result.
In this example shown, we want to write the text from cell A5, B5, and C5 with line breaks in D5. For this, enable the Wrap Text first and then use the formula “=A5&CHAR(10)&B5&CHAR(10)&C5”.
Thus the character function in this formula combines the text that appears in A5, B5, and C5, and we get the result.
Conclusion
ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Line Feed means moving the cursor to the beginning of the next line But remember to insert the line break in MS Excel; first, we have to enable the Wrap Text; otherwise, the CHAR function will make no changes in the result. And for this, select the cell with the formula, then go to Home, then Alignment, then Wrap Text. If you are using Mac, use 13 instead of 10 as an argument of the CHAR function, which represents “carriage return”. Carriage return brings the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
Things to Remember About Line Break in Excel
- A keyboard shortcut is a good way to insert a line break in a small no. of cells but add a line break in a large number of cells and use the CHAR function.
- CHAR function returns the result on the base of a character code.
- It uses parameter 10 for windows and 13 for Mac. Here, 10 represents “line feed”, and 13 represents “carriage return”.
- Lie Feed means moving the cursor to the next line and Carriage Return means moving the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
- When we use a shortcut, it will enable the Wrap Text automatically.
- MS Excel does not enable the Wrap Text by itself when we use the formula to add a line break. We have to enable it manually.
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to Line Break in Excel. Here we discuss How to Insert Line Break in Excel along with practical examples and a downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –
- Break Links in Excel
- Find External Links in Excel
- New Line in Excel Cell
- Print Gridlines in Excel
Dealing with text in Excel can be painful as the formatting is limited within Excel cells. One method of organizing text is to add line breaks. In this article, we’ll explore ways of dealing with new lines in Excel.
Insert line breaks manually with Alt + Enter
Inserting a line break in Excel is quite easy: Just press Alt 
+ Enter 
to add a line break inside a cell. This keyboard shortcut works the same way on Windows and the Office 2016 for Mac.
Insert line breaks with a formula
Let’s say you want to add a line break within the CONCATENATE formula or the ‘&’ when you combine two text cells. This works with the code CHAR(10).
Example: A1 has a text and B1 as well. You want to combine them but add two breaks between them. The formula would be:
=A1&CHAR(10)&CHAR(10)&B1Please note: In order to see the line breaks, entered via Excel formulas, you have to activate “Wrap Text”: Just click on the “Wrap Text” button on the Home ribbon.
How to search for new lines in Excel
You can use the search function in Excel to search for new lines. Follow these steps:
- Open the search window by pressing Ctrl
+ f on the keyboard. - Type Ctrl + j into the search field and press Enter
.
+ f 
on the keyboard.
into the search field and press Enter That’s it.
Replace or remove new lines with the search function
Very similar to search for line breaks you can also remove or replace them. Instead of “Find”, use the “Replace” tab of the search window and replace them with a blank space (” “).
- Open the search window by pressing Ctrl + f on the keyboard.
- Type Ctrl + j into the search field and press Enter .
- As the “Replace with” value enter a space character
. - Click on “Replace All” or just “Replace” if you want to go cell by cell.
.In some cases, there a space characters at the end of a line. When that happens, you will get a double space. You might want to use the replace function again, but this time replace all double spaces (type 2x space on the keyboard) by just one space.
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Replace or remove line breaks with the SUBSTITUTE function
Of course, replacing or removing new lines is also possible using formulas. The easiest way is to use the SUBSTITUTE formula. If your input text is located in cell B3, the formula looks like this:
=SUBSTITUTE(B3,CHAR(10)," ")- The first part contains the input text. In our case it’s cell B3.
- The second part has the text which you want to replace. In our case it’s the line break, given by CHAR(10).
- In the third part you provide the replacement. Usually it’s a space character.
As sometimes the lines already end with a space, you might get double spaces. We recommend replacing double spaces by single space characters. Therefore, just use the SUBSTITUTE formula again and wrap it around the existing SUBSTITUTE formula:
=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(B3,CHAR(10)," ")," "," ")Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Henrik Schiffner is a freelance business consultant and software developer. He lives and works in Hamburg, Germany. Besides being an Excel enthusiast he loves photography and sports.