Shortcut For Wrapping Text On Mac Excel
This tutorial shows how to wrap text in a cell automatically and how to insert a line break manually. You will also learn the most common reasons for Excel wrap text not working and how to fix it.
Well, what you can do about this is, learn how to make an excel cell expand to fit the text. Shortcut to Wrap Text in Excel is: Alt + Enter (Press and hold the Alt key and then press and release the Enter Key without releasing the Alt key on the Keyboard.). 27 thoughts on “ Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel 2011 ” Dennis Taylor June 20, 2011 at 8:12 pm. Command+6 is redo (as well as repeat) in Excel 2011 for the MAC. In Excel 2010 and all previous versions in Windows, it’s F4 or Ctrl+y for redo/repeat. Many users find that using an external keyboard with keyboard shortcuts for Excel for Mac helps them work more efficiently. For users with mobility or vision disabilities, keyboard shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen and are an essential alternative to using a mouse. Become a Registered Member (free) to remove the ad that appears in the top post. Click here to reset your password. You MUST have a valid e-mail address so that you may receive the instructions to complete the reset. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the Board FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
Primarily, Microsoft Excel is designed to calculate and manipulate numbers. However, you may often find yourself in situations when, in addition to numbers, large amounts of text need to be stored in spreadsheets. In case longer text does not fit neatly in a cell, you can of course proceed with the most obvious way and simply make the column wider. However, it's not really an option when you work with a large worksheet that has a lot of data to display.
A much better solution is to wrap text that exceeds a column width, and Microsoft Excel provides a couple of ways to do it. This tutorial will introduce you to the Excel wrap text feature and share a few tips to use it wisely.
What is wrap text in Excel?
When the data input in a cell is too large fit in it, one of the following two things happens:
- If columns to the right are empty, a long text string extends over the cell border into those columns.
- If an adjacent cell to the right contains any data, a text string is cut off at the cell border.
The screenshot below shows two cases:
The Excel wrap text feature can help you fully display longer text in a cell without it overflowing to other cells. 'Wrapping text' means displaying the cell contents on multiple lines, rather than one long line. This will allow you to avoid the 'truncated column' effect, make the text easier to read and better fit for printing. In addition, it will help you keep the column width consistent throughout the entire worksheet.
The following screenshot shows how wrapped text looks like in Excel:
How to wrap text in Excel automatically
To force a lengthy text string to appear on multiple lines, select the cell(s) that you want to format, and turn on the Excel text wrap feature by using one of the following methods.
Method 1. Go to the Home tab > Alignment group, and click the Wrap Text button:
Method 2. Press Ctrl + 1 to open the Format Cells dialog (or right-click the selected cells and then click Format Cells…), switch to the Alignment tab, select the Wrap Text checkbox, and click OK.
Compared to the first method, this one takes a couple of extra clicks, but it may save time in case you wish to make a few changes in cell formatting at a time, wrapping text being one of those changes.
Tip. If the Wrap Text checkbox is filled in solid, it indicates that the selected cells have different text wrap settings, i.e. in some cells the data is wrapped, in other cells it is not wrapped.
Result. Whichever method you use, the data in the selected cells wraps to fit the column width. If you change the column width, text wrapping will adjust automatically. The following screenshot shows a possible result:
How to unwrap text in Excel
As you can easily guess, the two methods described above are also used to unwrap text.
The fastest way is to select the cell(s) and click the Wrap Text button (Home tab > Alignment group) to toggle text wrapping off.
Alternatively, press the Ctrl + 1 shortcut to open the Format Cells dialog and clear the Wrap text checkbox on the Alignment tab.
How to insert a line break manually
Sometimes you may want to start a new line at a specific position rather than have lengthy text wrap automatically. To enter a line break manually, just do the following:
- Enter cell edit mode by pressing F2 or double-clicking the cell or clicking in the formula bar.
- Put the cursor where you want to break the line, and press the Alt+Enter shortcut (e. press the Alt key and while holding it down, press the Enter key).
Result. Inserting a manual line break turns on the Wrap Text option automatically. However, the line breaks entered manually will stick in place when the column is made wider. If you turn off text wrapping, the data displays in one line in a cell, but the inserted line breaks are visible in the formula bar. The following screenshot demonstrates both scenarios (a line break in entered after the word 'owl'):
Excel wrap text not working
As one of the most often used features in Excel, Warp Text was designed as simple as possible and you will hardly have any problems using it in your worksheets. If text wrapping does not work as expected, check out the following troubleshooting tips.
1. Fixed row height
If not all wrapped text is visible in a cell, most likely the row is set to a certain height. To fix this, select the problematic cell, go to the Home tab > Cells group, and click Format > AutoFit Row Height:
Or, you can set a specific row height by clicking Row Height… and then typing the desired number in the Row height box. A fixed row height comes in especially handy to control the way the table headers are displayed.
2. Merged cells
Excel's Wrap Text does not work for merged cells, so you will have to decide which feature is more important for a particular sheet. If you keep the merged cells, you can display the full text by making the column(s) wider. If you opt for Wrap Text, then unmerge cells by clicking the Merge & Center button on the Home tab, in the Alignment group:
3. The cell is wide enough to display its value
If you try to wrap a cell(s) that is already wide enough to display its contents, nothing will happen, even if later on the column is resized and becomes too narrow to fit longer entries. To force the text to wrap, toggle the Excel Wrap Text button off and on again.
This is how you wrap text in Excel to display longer text on multiple lines. I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next week!
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Many users find that using an external keyboard with keyboard shortcuts for Excel for Mac helps them work more efficiently. For users with mobility or vision disabilities, keyboard shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen and are an essential alternative to using a mouse. This article itemizes the keyboard shortcuts for Excel for Mac.
Many of the shortcuts that use the Ctrl key on a Windows keyboard also work with the Control key in Excel for Mac. However, not all do.
Notes:
The shortcuts in this topic refer to the US keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a US keyboard.
If a shortcut requires pressing two or more keys at the same time, this topic separates the keys with a plus sign (+). If you have to press one key immediately after another, the keys are separated by a comma (,).
The settings in some versions of the Mac operating system (OS) and some utility applications might conflict with keyboard shortcuts and function key operations in Office for Mac. For information about changing the key assignment of a keyboard shortcut, see Mac Help for your version of the Mac OS or see your utility application. Also see Shortcut conflicts later in this topic.
In this topic
Frequently used shortcuts
This table itemizes the most frequently used shortcuts in Excel for Mac.
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Paste | + V |
Copy | + C |
Clear | DELETE |
Save | + S |
Undo | + Z |
Redo | + Y |
Cut | + X |
Bold | + B |
+ P | |
Open Visual Basic | OPTION + F11 |
Fill Down | + D |
Fill Right | + R |
Insert cells | CONTROL + SHIFT + = |
Delete cells | + HYPHEN |
Calculate all open workbooks | + = |
Close window | + W |
Quit Excel | + Q |
Display the Go To dialog box | CONTROL + G |
Display the Format Cells dialog box | + 1 |
Display the Replace dialog box | CONTROL + H |
Paste Special | + CONTROL + V |
Underline | + U |
Italic | + I |
New blank workbook | + N |
New workbook from template | + SHIFT + P |
Display the Save As dialog box | + SHIFT + S |
Display the Help window | F1 |
Select All | + A |
Add or remove a filter | + SHIFT + F |
Minimize or maximize the ribbon tabs | + OPTION + R |
Display the Open dialog box | + O |
Check spelling | F7 |
Open the thesaurus | SHIFT + F7 |
Display the Formula Builder | SHIFT + F3 |
Open the Define Name dialog box | + F3 |
Open the Create names dialog box | + SHIFT + F3 |
Insert a new sheet * | SHIFT + F11 |
+ P | |
Print preview | + P |
Get started
Many keyboards assign special functions to function keys, by default. To use the function key for other purposes, you have to press Fn+the function key. See the Use function key shortcuts section for information about how to enable and use function keys without having to press Fn.
Shortcut conflicts
Some Windows keyboard shortcuts conflict with the corresponding default Mac OS keyboard shortcuts. This topic flags such shortcuts with an asterisk ( * ). To use these shortcuts, you may have to change your Mac keyboard settings to change the Show Desktop shortcut for the key.
Change system preferences for keyboard shortcuts with the mouse
On the Apple menu, press System Preferences.
Press Keyboard.
In the tabs, press Shortcuts.
Click Mission Control.
Clear the check box for the keyboard shortcut that you want to use.
Work in windows and dialogs
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Expand or minimize the ribbon | + OPTION + R |
Switch to full screen view | + CONTROL + F |
Switch to the next application | + TAB |
Switch to the previous application | + SHIFT + TAB |
Close the active workbook window | + W |
Copy the image of the screen and save it to | + SHIFT + 3 |
Minimize the active window | CONTROL + F9 |
Maximize or restore the active window | CONTROL + F10 |
Hide Excel. | + H |
Move to the next box, option, control, or command | TAB |
Move to the previous box, option, control, or command | SHIFT + TAB |
Exit a dialog or cancel an action | ESC |
Perform the action assigned to the default command button (the button with the bold outline, often the OK button) | RETURN |
Cancel the command and close | ESC |
Move and scroll in a sheet or workbook
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Move one cell up, down, left, or right | ARROW KEYS |
Move to the edge of the current data region | + ARROW KEY |
Move to the beginning of the row | HOME |
Move to the beginning of the sheet | CONTROL + HOME |
Move to the last cell in use on the sheet | CONTROL + END |
Move down one screen | PAGE DOWN |
Move up one screen | PAGE UP |
Move one screen to the right | OPTION + PAGE DOWN |
Move one screen to the left | OPTION + PAGE UP |
Move to the next sheet in the workbook | CONTROL + PAGE DOWN |
Move to the previous sheet in the workbook | CONTROL + PAGE DOWN |
Scroll to display the active cell | CONTROL + DELETE |
Display the Go To dialog box | CONTROL + G |
Display the Find dialog box | CONTROL + F |
Access search (when in a cell or when a cell is selected) | + F |
Move between unlocked cells on a protected sheet | TAB |
Enter data on a sheet
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Edit the selected cell | F2 |
Complete a cell entry and move forward in the selection | RETURN |
Start a new line in the same cell | CONTROL + OPTION + RETURN |
Fill the selected cell range with the text that you type | + RETURN |
Complete a cell entry and move up in the selection | SHIFT + RETURN |
Complete a cell entry and move to the right in the selection | TAB |
Complete a cell entry and move to the left in the selection | SHIFT + TAB |
Cancel a cell entry | ESC |
Delete the character to the left of the insertion point, or delete the selection | DELETE |
Delete the character to the right of the insertion point, or delete the selection |
|
Delete text to the end of the line | CONTROL + |
Move one character up, down, left, or right | ARROW KEYS |
Move to the beginning of the line | HOME |
Insert a comment | SHIFT + F2 |
Open and edit a cell comment | SHIFT + F2 |
Fill down | CONTROL + D |
Fill to the right | CONTROL + R |
Define a name | CONTROL + L |
Work in cells or the Formula bar
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Edit the selected cell | F2 |
Edit the active cell and then clear it, or delete the preceding character in the active cell as you edit the cell contents | DELETE |
Complete a cell entry | RETURN |
Enter a formula as an array formula | + SHIFT + RETURN |
Cancel an entry in the cell or formula bar | ESC |
Display the Formula Builder after you type a valid function name in a formula | CONTROL + A |
Insert a hyperlink | + K |
Edit the active cell and position the insertion point at the end of the line | CONTROL + U |
Open the Formula Builder | SHIFT + F3 |
Calculate the active sheet | SHIFT + F9 |
Display a contextual menu | SHIFT + F10 |
Start a formula | = |
Toggle the formula reference style between absolute, relative, and mixed | + T |
Insert the AutoSum formula | + SHIFT + T |
Enter the date | CONTROL + SEMICOLON (;) |
Enter the time | + SEMICOLON (;) |
Copy the value from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the formula bar | CONTROL + SHIFT + INCH MARK (') |
Alternate between displaying cell values and displaying cell formulas | CONTROL + GRAVE ACCENT (`) |
Copy a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the formula bar | CONTROL + APOSTROPHE (') |
Display the AutoComplete list | CONTROL + OPTION + DOWN ARROW |
Define a name | CONTROL + L |
Open the Smart Lookup pane | CONTROL + OPTION + + L |
Format and edit data
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Edit the selected cell | F2 |
Create a table | + T |
Insert a line break in a cell | + OPTION + RETURN |
Insert special characters like symbols, including emoji | CONTROL + + SPACEBAR |
Increase font size | + SHIFT + > |
Decrease font size | + SHIFT + < |
Align center | + E |
Align left | + L |
Display the Modify Cell Style dialog box | + SHIFT + L |
Display the Format Cells dialog box | + 1 |
Apply the general number format | CONTROL + SHIFT + ~ |
Apply the currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers appear in red with parentheses) | CONTROL + SHIFT + $ |
Apply the percentage format with no decimal places | CONTROL + SHIFT + % |
Apply the exponential number format with two decimal places | CONTROL + SHIFT + ^ |
Apply the date format with the day, month, and year | CONTROL + SHIFT + # |
Apply the time format with the hour and minute, and indicate AM or PM | CONTROL + SHIFT + @ |
Apply the number format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values | CONTROL + SHIFT + ! |
Apply the outline border around the selected cells | + OPTION + ZERO |
Add an outline border to the right of the selection | + OPTION + RIGHT ARROW |
Add an outline border to the left of the selection | + OPTION + LEFT ARROW |
Add an outline border to the top of the selection | + OPTION + UP ARROW |
Add an outline border to the bottom of the selection | + OPTION + DOWN ARROW |
Remove outline borders | + OPTION + HYPHEN |
Apply or remove bold formatting | + B |
Apply or remove italic formatting | + I |
Apply or remove underscoring | + U |
Apply or remove strikethrough formatting | + SHIFT + X |
Hide a column | + ) |
Unhide a column | + SHIFT + ) |
Hide a row | + ( |
Unhide a row | + SHIFT + ( |
Edit the active cell | CONTROL + U |
Cancel an entry in the cell or the formula bar | ESC |
Edit the active cell and then clear it, or delete the preceding character in the active cell as you edit the cell contents | DELETE |
Paste text into the active cell | + V |
Complete a cell entry | RETURN |
Give selected cells the current cell's entry | + RETURN |
Enter a formula as an array formula | + SHIFT + RETURN |
Display the Formula Builder after you type a valid function name in a formula | CONTROL + A |
Select cells, columns, or rows
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Extend the selection by one cell | SHIFT + ARROW KEY |
Extend the selection to the last nonblank cell | + SHIFT + ARROW KEY |
Extend the selection to the beginning of the row | SHIFT + HOME |
Extend the selection to the beginning of the sheet | CONTROL + SHIFT + HOME |
Extend the selection to the last cell used | CONTROL + SHIFT + END |
Select the entire column | CONTROL + SPACEBAR |
Select the entire row | SHIFT + SPACEBAR |
Select the entire sheet | + A |
Select only visible cells | + SHIFT + * (asterisk) |
Select only the active cell when multiple cells are selected | SHIFT + DELETE |
Extend the selection down one screen | SHIFT + PAGE DOWN |
Extend the selection up one screen | SHIFT + PAGE UP |
Alternate between hiding objects, displaying objects, | CONTROL + 6 |
Turn on the capability to extend a selection | F8 |
Add another range of cells to the selection | SHIFT + F8 |
Select the current array, which is the array that the | CONTROL + / |
Select cells in a row that don't match the value | CONTROL + |
Select only cells that are directly referred to by formulas in the selection | CONTROL + SHIFT + [ |
Select all cells that are directly or indirectly referred to by formulas in the selection | CONTROL + SHIFT + { |
Select only cells with formulas that refer directly to the active cell | CONTROL + ] |
Select all cells with formulas that refer directly or indirectly to the active cell | CONTROL + SHIFT + } |
Work with a selection
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Copy | + C |
Paste | + V |
Cut | + X |
Clear | DELETE |
Delete the selection | CONTROL + HYPHEN |
Undo the last action | + Z |
Hide a column | + ) |
Unhide a column | + SHIFT + ) |
Hide a row | + ( |
Unhide a row | + SHIFT + ( |
Move from top to bottom within the selection (down) * | RETURN |
Move from bottom to top within the selection (up) * | SHIFT + RETURN |
Move from left to right within the selection, | TAB |
Move from right to left within the selection, | SHIFT + TAB |
Move clockwise to the next corner of the selection | CONTROL + PERIOD |
Group selected cells | + SHIFT + K |
Ungroup selected cells | + SHIFT + J |
* These shortcuts may move in another direction other than down or up. If you'd like to change the direction of these shortcuts using the mouse, on the Excel menu, click Preferences, click Edit, and then, under. After pressing Return, move selection, select the direction you want to move in.
Use charts
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Insert a new chart sheet. * | F11 |
Cycle through chart object selection | ARROW KEYS |
Sort, filter, and use PivotTable reports
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Open the Sort dialog box | + SHIFT + R |
Add or remove a filter | + SHIFT + F |
Display the Filter list or PivotTable page | OPTION + DOWN ARROW |
Outline data
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Display or hide outline symbols | CONTROL + 8 |
Hide selected rows | CONTROL + 9 |
Unhide selected rows | CONTROL + SHIFT + Opening parenthesis ( ( ) |
Hide selected columns | CONTROL + ZERO |
Unhide selected columns | CONTROL + SHIFT + Closing parenthesis ( ) ) |
Use function key shortcuts
Excel for Mac uses the function keys for common commands, including Copy and Paste. For quick access to these shortcuts, you can change your Apple system preferences so you don't have to press the FN key every time you use a function key shortcut
Note: Changing system function key preferences affects how the function keys work for your Mac, not just Excel. After changing this setting, you can still perform the special features printed on a function key. Just press the FN key. For example, to use the F12 key to change your volume, you would press FN+F12.
If a function key doesn't work as you expect it to, press the FN key in addition to the function key. If you don't want to press the FN key each time, you can change your Apple system preferences:
Change function key preferences with the mouse
On the Apple menu, press System Preferences.
Select Keyboard.
On the Keyboard tab, select the check box for Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.
The following table provides the function key shortcuts for Excel for Mac
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Display the Help window | F1 |
Edit the selected cell | F2 |
Insert or edit a cell comment | SHIFT + F2 |
Open the Save dialog | OPTION + F2 |
Open the Formula Builder | SHIFT +F3 |
Open the Define Name dialog | +F3 |
Close | +F4 |
Display the Go To dialog | F5 |
Display the Find dialog | SHIFT + F5 |
Move to the Search Sheet dialog | CONTROL + F5 |
Check spelling | F7 |
Open the thesaurus | SHIFT + F7 |
Extend the selection | F8 |
Add to the selection | SHIFT + F8 |
Display the Macro dialog | OPTION +F8 |
Calculate all open workbooks | F9 |
Calculate the active sheet | SHIFT + F9 |
Minimize the active window | CONTROL + F9 |
Display a contextual menu, or 'right click' menu | SHIFT + F10 |
Maximize or restore the active window | CONTROL + F10 |
Insert a new chart sheet* | F11 |
Insert a new sheet* | SHIFT + F11 |
Insert an Excel 4.0 macro sheet | + F11 |
Open Visual Basic | OPTION + F11 |
Display the Save As dialog | F12 |
Display the Open dialog | + F12 |
Drawing
Shortcuts For Excel In Windows
To do this | Press |
|---|---|
Toggle Drawing mode | + CONTROL + Z |
See also
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
Excel For Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.
