How to change cells in excel

Change the format of a cell

You can apply formatting to an entire cell and to the data inside a cell—or a group of cells. One way to think of this is the cells are the frame of a picture and the picture inside the frame is the data. 

Formal Cells

1. Select the cells.

2. Go to the ribbon to select changes as Bold, Font Color, or Font Size.

Apply Excel Styles 

1. Select the cells.

2. Select Home > Cell Style and select a style. 

Modify an Excel Style

1. Select the cells with the Excel Style.

2. Right-click the applied style in Home > Cell Styles.

3. Select Modify > Format to change what you want. 

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

See Also

Format text in cells

Format numbers

Format a date the way you want

When you fill out Excel worksheets with data, no one will succeed at once, everything is beautiful and correctly filled at the first attempt.

In the process of working with the program, you always need something: modify, edit, delete, copy or move. If the entered incorrect values in a cell, naturally, we want to correct or delete ones. But even such simple task can sometimes create difficulties.



How to set the cell format in Excel?

The contents of each Excel cell consist of three elements:

1. The meaning: text, numbers, dates and times, logical content, functions and formulas.
2. The formats: the type and color of the borders, the type and color of the fill, the way the values are displayed.
3. Comments.

All these three elements are completely independent of each other. You can specify the format of the cell and do not write anything to it, or add a note in an empty and not formatted cell.



How to change the format of cells in Excel?

To change the format of the cells, you should call the corresponding dialog box with the CTRL + 1 (or CTRL + SHIFT + F) key or from the context menu after you right-click the «Cell Format» option.

There are 6 tabs in this dialog box:

1. A number. Here you specify the way the numeric values are displayed.
2. The alignment. On this tab you can control the position of the text. And the text can be displayed vertically or diagonally from any angle. Also pay attention to the «Display» section. Very often, the function «Wrap Text» is used.



3. Font. The specify the style design of fonts, the size and color of the text, plus the modes of modifications.
4. The border. Here you define the styles and colors of the borders. The design of all tables is better done right here.
5. The fill. The name of the bookmark speaks for itself. Available for formatting colors, patterns and methods of filling (for example, a gradient with a different direction of strokes).
6. The protection. Here, the cell protection settings are set, that are activated only after the protection of the whole sheet.

If you did not get the desired result on the first attempt, call this dialog again to fix the cell format in Excel.

What formatting is applicable to cells in Excel?

Each cell always has some format. If there were no changes, then this is the «General» format. It is also a standard Excel format, in which:

• the numbers are aligned on the right side;
• the text is aligned on the left side;
• the font Calibri with the height of 11 points;
• the cell has no borders and background fill.

The Format Removal – is the changing to the standard «General» format (without borders and fills).

It is worth noting that the format of cells, unlike values, can not be deleted with the DELETE key.

To delete the format of cells, select ones and use the «Clear Formats» tool, which is located on the «HOME» tab in the «Editing» section.

If you want to clear not only the format, but also the values, then select the «Clear All» option from the drop-down list of the tool (eraser).

As you can see, the eraser tool is functionally flexible and allows us to make a choice of what to delete in the cells:

• the content (same as the DELETE key);
• the formats;
• notes;
• the hyperlinks.

The option «Clear all» combines all these functions.

The deleting notes

Note, as well as formats, are not deleted from the cell by pressing the DELETE key. You can delete notes in two ways:

1. The eraser tool: the option «Clear notes».
2. Click on the cell with the note with the right mouse button, and from the appeared context menu select the option «Delete note».

The notation. The second way is more convenient. If you delete several notes at the same time, you must first select all of its cells.

For example, the number 23 in a cell with a percentage format will be stored as 0.23 float, while in a cell with the numeric format as 23 integers. The number 45,678 when using commas to separate thousands, Excel will store as 45 thousand and 678, while in a cell with the data format, you will most likely see 1/21/2025 (see how to adjust the number of digits after the decimal point):

To apply the format to the selected cell or range of cells, do the following:

• Using the keyboard:

• On the Home tab, in the Number group, open the Number Format dropdown list:

  

  From the Number Formats dropdown list:

  
  • Choose one of the 11 common number formats (see below),
  • Select the More Number formats… to create a custom format (see Custom cell format for more details):

  

• Do one of the following:
  • Right-click on the selection and choose Format Cells… in the popup menu:

    

  • On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the dialog box launcher:

    

    In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Number tab, in the Category list:

    

    • Choose one of the 11 predefined formats,
    • Use the Custom format (see Custom cell format for more details).

• Using the mouse: Number-Formatting Keyboard Shortcuts:
  

  Key Combination	Formatting Applied
  Ctrl+Shift+~	General number format (that is, unformatted values)
  Ctrl+Shift+$	Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers appear in parentheses) — see how to change the currency format
  Ctrl+Shift+%	Percentage format, with no decimal places
  Ctrl+Shift+^	Scientific notation number format, with two decimal places
  Ctrl+Shift+#	Date format with the day, month, and year — DD-MM-YYYY
  [email protected]	Time format with the hour, minute, and AM or PM
  Ctrl+Shift+!	Two decimal places, thousands separator, and a hyphen for negative values:

Note: The number format does not affect the value. It affects only the appearance. See also Different rounding effects in Excel.

Number formats

• General (used by default) displays numbers as integers or decimals and in scientific notation if the value is too wide to fit in the cell.
• Number allows to specify:
  • the number of decimal places,
  • whether to use a comma to separate thousands,
  • how to display negative numbers — with a minus sign, in red, in parentheses, or in red and in parentheses:

  

• Currency allows to specify:
  • the number of decimal places,
  • whether to use a comma to separate thousands,
  • a currency symbol,
  • how to display negative numbers — with a minus sign, in red, in parentheses, or in red and in parentheses.
• Accounting differs from the Currency format in that the currency symbols always align vertically (see more about differences between currency and accounting formats).
• Date allows selecting one of several date formats.
• Time allows selecting one of several time formats.
• Percentage allows specifying the number of decimal places and always displays a percent sign.
• Fraction allows selecting from among nine fraction formats.
• Scientific displays numbers in exponential notation — with letter E or e: 2.00E+08 = 200,000,000; 1.02E+05 = 102,000.

  You can choose the number of decimal places to display to the left of E. The second example can be read as «1.02 times 10 to the fifth.»

• Text allows specifying a value that causes Excel to treat it as text, even if it looks like a number.

  This feature is useful for such items as serial numbers, credit card numbers, or document numbers.
• Special contains additional number formats.

  In the U.S. version of Excel, the additional number formats are Zip Code, Zip Code + 4, Phone Number, and Social Security Number:

  

• Custom enables to define custom number formats – see Custom cell format for more details.

Note: If a cell displays a series of hashes such as #########, this usually means that the column width is not wide enough to display the value in the selected number format. To display the value correctly, change the column width (see How to change width of gridlines in Excel) or change the number format.

The series of hashes can also indicate a negative time value (see How to format negative timestamps) or an invalid date, such as a date before January 1, 1900.

See also this tip in French:
Comment changer le format de numéro facilement.

Cell data is the text or the numbers within a cell. It can be text you type in, numbers, or formulas. When you start creating a spreadsheet, one of the first steps is to enter data in the cells.

Enter Cell Data

1. Click the blank cell where you want to add data.

   You know the cell is active because a border appears around it.

2. Type your data into the cell.

   Notice that the text you type also appears in the Formula bar.

3. Press Enter or click the Enter button.

   

Replace Cell Data

In addition to adding data in a blank cell, you can also type data into a cell that is already populated.

1. Select the cell that contains the data you want to replace.

   The old information is automatically selected.
2. Enter the new information.
3. Press Enter or click the Enter button.

   

The new information is added in the old data’s place.

Delete Cell Data

If you want to remove the data all together, you can delete it.

1. Select the cell that contains that data you want to delete.
2. Press the Delete key on your keyboard.

   

The data is deleted from the selected cell.

Edit Cell Data

In addition to replacing and deleting data, you can also make edits.

1. Click the cell you want to edit.
2. Click in the formula bar.
3. Make your changes.
4. Press Enter or click the Enter button.

   

The cell is updated with the new text.

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Whether you are working on Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet programs, the content will appear in a rectangular grid of cells. You will see that each cell has the same size in a row and column, that’s why you cannot change the cell’s size individually. Changing the size of a cell will directly affect other cells in the same row or column.

So, the thing is how to make cells bigger in Excel without interrupting other settings. To form bigger compound cells, merging adjacent cells will help, or else you may change the settings of rows and columns so that the content fits automatically.

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel on a PC            

Running Microsoft Excel on a PC, iPhone or Android seems different. However, with a PC, it works amazingly. On a PC, you will have an option to work on Excel along with other relevant apps such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Word. No matter why you need to make cells bigger in Excel, the thing is you can simply make changes in the sheet individually to make cells bigger.

Let’s find out how you can do it:

1. Choose the cell you need to resize and clear the adjacent cells from all directions. Now, you have to highlight the whole set. Most likely, you would need to move the data of those cells to other cells in the sheet.

1. Hit the Home tab right from the file.

1. Scroll down to the “Alignment” section and hit the down arrow placed next to the “Merge & Center” option.

1. Choose this “Merge & Center” option.

1. Now, you will see a bigger cell that is surrounded by all the normal size cells. It’s up to you how you will add content in this bigger cell.

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel Using Wrap Text Option

Here comes another great method that helps in making cells bigger individually. Let’s dig out how you can do it:

1. You will have to choose the first cell of the Email ID column and hit the Home tab; after that click on the “Wrap Text” option.

1. Later on, you will see the first cell is bigger and the content fits in.
2. Once the content fits in, you have to copy the format and click on the Home tab > Format Painter option.
3. Drag down the indicated sign.

1. Doing this will help you fit the entire content in the bigger cells. 

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel while Fixing Column Width with a Mouse Click

1. Choose the Email ID column and drag down the indicated sign to the right side, so that it fits in the Email Ids cells.
2. Besides, you can even double-click on this sign.

Following these steps will ultimately give you desired results.

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel while Fixing Column Width using Shortcut Trick

1. Choose the column from which you need to change the size of the cells. Press ALT + H, O, I. ALT + H will open up the Home tab, O opens up the Format Group, and I choose the Autofit Column Width.

1. This will end up fitting the content in a bigger cell by default.

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel while Fixing Column Width using Format Option

1. Choose the Email ID column and follow this sequence of operations: Home tab > Cells Group > Format > AutoFit Column Width

Following this step will fit your content automatically in a bigger cell.

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel while Fixing Row Height using Format Option

1. First of all, you need to choose the group of rows from which you want to make cells bigger. Here in this example, you will see Row 4 to Row 11 are highlighted. Follow the sequence of operations as; Home tab > Cells Group > Format > Row Height

1. A dialog box “Row Height” will pop up and you need to enter the Row height as per your needs. In this example, the row height is 48 points.

1. The Row heights will get bigger and later on, you will have to choose the Email Id column while following this sequence: Home tab > Wrap Text

1. Now, the text will fit in the cells perfectly. 

How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel on an iPhone

While using an iPhone typically restricts you from multiple apps and functions. As in Microsoft Excel, you can merge cells easily to make one bigger cell on an iPhone.

Let’s see how you can execute this operation:

1. Open the Excel file and choose the cell you need to resize. Clear the cells from all directions.

1. Click on the original cell. Now, you will see the cell is highlighted in blue. Apart from that, you will also see a blue dot in two corners (top left and bottom right) of the cell.

1. Dragging those blue dots will help you choose all the cells that needed to merge.

1. Right at the bottom of the screen, you will find the option “Merge”, click on it.

1. Right after clicking on it, you will see a bigger cell that can fit the data you wanted to enter.

Dragging Column or Row to Resize the Cell

• On the right side of the column, try moving the cursor over the edge line. Continue doing this until you see an arrow with a double line on the edge line. This arrow helps in maximizing the column width or row. 
• Drag the column or row right in the direction you need to increase it. For instance right or left, top or bottom
• Release the mouse and the size will set up automatically. Right after finishing this step, you will get one bigger cell in the row or column.

Make Space for Anything You Need

Using Microsoft will never make you upset as you can fully customize your files. This app has a bunch of features to manipulate the settings as per your needs. Changing the cell size in the range of other standard-sized cells needs you to use the “Merge & Center” feature. It does not matter which platform you are using to change the cell size, you can quickly make cells bigger in Excel right after following some useful steps

Cells in Microsoft Excel 2010 have a default size of 8.43 characters wide by 15 points high. This size is ideal for many situations, but you will eventually encounter a piece of information that will not fit within these default parameters. Fortunately you can choose to make any cell either smaller or larger to accommodate the information that you are inputting into the cell. Additionally, there are several different methods that you can utilize to change the size of a cell in Microsoft Excel 2010, so you can experiment with the different available methods to determine which one is correct for your needs.

Check out our tutorial on how to expand all rows in Excel and learn about a quick and easy way to resize a lot of cells at once.

The first thing to realize before you start changing your Excel cell sizes is that when you are changing the width or height of a particular cell, you are adjusting that value for every other cell in the row or column. Excel will not allow you to change the size of a single cell.

Begin the process by double-clicking the Excel file that contains the cells that you want to resize.

Locate the cell that you want to adjust, then right click the column heading at the top of that cell’s column. The column heading is the letter above the spreadsheet.

Click the Column Width option, then enter a value into the field. You can enter any value into this field up to 255, but bear in mind that the default value is 8.43, so adjust accordingly. Once you have entered a new value, click OK.

Now that we have changed the width of the column, we are going to perform a very similar action to change the height. Right-click the row heading, which is the number at the far-left side of the spreadsheet, then click the Row Height option.

Type your desired row height value into the field (any value up to 409 will work) then click the OK button.

Do you often need to adjust your column width and want to use a shortcut? This Excel auto adjust column width shortcut method might be the answer you need.

While this method will work if you can accurately guess the cell width and height that you need, it could prove to be difficult if you do not know an approximate value. Luckily Excel 2010 also includes another option that will automatically resize your row or column for you, based upon the largest cell value in your selected row or column.

You can utilize this method by placing your mouse cursor on the line that separates your column or row heading from the one either to the right of or below it. For example, in the image below, I have placed my cursor on the line between columns B and C, because I want to automatically resize column B.

Double-click this line to have Excel automatically adjust the size of your row or column.

Note that both of these methods will work if you want to resize multiple rows or columns at once, too. Simply hold down the Ctrl or Select key on your keyboard to select all of the rows or columns that you want to resize, then use the Row Height, Column Width or double-click method to adjust the size values of the selected cells.

Our guide on how to autofit all columns in Excel can show you a simple way to fix the width of your spreadsheet columns.