How to Set Row Width and Column Height, Use Autofit in Excel

Excel is a powerful and versatile spreadsheet application that allows you to store, analyze, and present data in various ways. One of the basic features of Excel is the ability to adjust the size of the cells in your worksheet to fit the content you enter. In this article, you will learn how to set the row height and column width manually or automatically using the Autofit feature.

How to Set Row Height and Column Width Manually

If you want to specify the exact size of one or more rows or columns in your worksheet, you can use the Format option in the Home tab of the ribbon. Here are the steps to follow:

Select the row or column that you want to resize. You can select multiple rows or columns by dragging the mouse over the row or column headers, or by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on the headers.
Click on the Home tab in the ribbon, and then click on the Format button in the Cells group.
From the drop-down menu, choose Row Height or Column Width, depending on what you want to change.
In the dialog box that appears, enter the desired value for the row height or column width, and click OK.

Alternatively, you can also resize a row or column by dragging its border with the mouse. To do this, hover the mouse pointer over the right border of a column header or the bottom border of a row header until it turns into a double-headed arrow. Then, click and drag the border to increase or decrease the size of the column or row.

How to Use Autofit in Excel

If you want Excel to automatically adjust the row height or column width based on the content of your cells, you can use the Autofit feature. Autofit will resize your cells so that they are large enough to display all the text without spilling over to adjacent cells, or small enough to avoid wasting space.

There are several ways to use Autofit in Excel:

Using Mouse Double-Click

The easiest way to use Autofit in Excel is by double-clicking the column or row border:

To autofit one column, position the mouse pointer over the right border of the column heading until the double-headed arrow appears, and then double-click the border.
To autofit one row, position the mouse pointer over the bottom border of the row heading until the double-headed arrow appears, and then double-click the border.
To autofit multiple columns or rows at once, select them first by dragging the mouse over their headers, and then double-click any of their borders.

Using Excel Ribbon

Another way to use Autofit in Excel is by using the Format option in the Home tab of the ribbon. Here are the steps to follow:

Select the column or row that you want to autofit. You can select multiple columns or rows by dragging the mouse over their headers, or by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on their headers.
Click on the Home tab in the ribbon, and then click on the Format button in the Cells group.
From the drop-down menu, choose AutoFit Column Width or AutoFit Row Height, depending on what you want to change.

Using Keyboard Shortcut

If you prefer using keyboard shortcuts, you can also use Autofit in Excel with these combinations:

To autofit one column, select any cell in that column and press Alt + H + O + I.
To autofit one row, select any cell in that row and press Alt + H + O + A.
To autofit multiple columns or rows at once, select them first by using Shift + Arrow keys or Ctrl + Spacebar (for columns) or Shift + Spacebar (for rows), and then press Alt + H + O + I (for columns) or Alt + H + O + A (for rows).

Autofit Not Working (Possible Solutions)

Sometimes, Autofit may not work as expected in Excel. Here are some possible reasons and solutions for this issue:

When There Are Merged Cells

If your worksheet contains merged cells, Autofit may not be able to resize them properly. This is because merged cells are treated as a single cell by Excel, and Autofit will only adjust their size based on their top-left cell.

To fix this problem, you can either unmerge your cells before using Autofit, or manually adjust their size after using Autofit.

When You Have Applied Wrap Text

If you have applied wrap text to your cells, Autofit may not be able to reduce their size below a certain minimum. This is because wrap text will force your text to fit within your cell by breaking it into multiple lines.

To fix this problem, you can either remove wrap text from your cells before using Autofit, or manually adjust their size after using Autofit.

Alternatives to Autofit Option in Excel

Besides using Autofit, there are also some other options that you can use to format your cells in Excel. Here are two of them:

Wrap Text

Wrap text is an option that allows you to display long text in a cell by breaking it into multiple lines. This can help you avoid spilling over to adjacent cells or hiding some of your text.

To apply wrap text to your cells, follow these steps:

Select the cells that you want to wrap text.
Click on the Home tab in the ribbon, and then click on the Wrap Text button in the Alignment group.

Alternatively, you can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 1 to open the Format Cells dialog box, and then check the Wrap Text option in the Alignment tab.

Shrink to Fit

Shrink to fit is an option that allows you to reduce the font size of your text to fit within your cell. This can help you avoid spilling over to adjacent cells or cutting off some of your text.

To apply shrink to fit to your cells, follow these steps:

Select the cells that you want to shrink to fit.
Click on the Home tab in the ribbon, and then click on the Dialog Box Launcher button in the bottom-right corner of the Font group.
In the Format Cells dialog box, go to the Alignment tab, and then check the Shrink to Fit option.

Alternatively, you can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 1 to open the Format Cells dialog box, and then check the Shrink to Fit option in the Alignment tab.

How to Set Row Width and Column Height, Use Autofit in Excel