How to Center Align in Excel (4 Quick Tricks)

In this tutorial, I am going to show you 4 quick tricks to center align in excel. You can quickly use these methods even in large datasets to perform the alignment of multiple cells. Throughout this tutorial, you will also learn some important excel tools and functions which will be very useful in any excel related task.

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4 Quick Tricks to Center Align in Excel

We have taken a concise dataset to explain the steps clearly. The dataset has approximately 6 rows and 2 columns. The Sales and Total Sales denote the number of units of sales in each case. But you can use the methods of this tutorial for other types of data like currency, percentage, time, etc although you might have to do some minor modifications.

1. Center Aligning from Excel Ribbon

The excel ribbon is the place where you will find almost all the common tools you will ever need while working. This ribbon basically consists of 4 components which are the Tabs, Groups, Dialog Launcher, and Command buttons. For this first method, we will use some commands from the Home tab. Let us see how to center align in excel using this ribbon.

Steps:

• First, select all the cells from B4 to C10.
• Then, go to the Home tab and then to Alignment.
• Next, click on the Middle Align and Center icons as in the image below.

• As a result, you should see all the cells are now aligned to the center.

Read More: How to Center Text in a Cell in Excel (3 Easy Methods)

2. Using Format Cells Window

The Format Cells window in excel allows us to customize font, fill color, security, and much more options. We will use this specifically to align cell contents to the center in excel. Follow the steps below to do this.

Steps:

• To begin with, drag and select all the cells from cell B4 to cell C10.
• Now navigate to the Home tab and click on the icon in the lower right corner of the Alignment section as in the image below.

• Next in the new Format Cells window, select Center from the Horizontal and Vertical drop-down under Text alignment.
• Finally, click on OK.

• Consequently, this should align all the cells to the center.

Read More: [Fixed!] Excel Cell Alignment Not Working (5 Possible Solutions)

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3. Applying Shortcut Keys to Center Align

If you want to align the cell contents to the center using only the keyboard, this method will help you with that. See the steps below to quickly achieve this.

Steps:

• As previously drag and select all the cells from B4 to C10.
• Now press Alt > H > A > C keys one after another.

• Immediately, this shortcut command will align all the cells you selected in the center.

Read More: How to Middle Align in Excel (2 Easy Ways)

4. Utilizing Merge & Center Option

The Merge & Center option in excel is unique in that it can merge multiple cells and align the contents in the center. Let us see how to easily apply this command in our dataset.

Steps:

• To begin with, select cells B4 to C4.
• Then, navigate to the Home tab and go to Alignment.
• Here, click on Merge & Center.

• As a result, you should see the Month title is at the center now.

• Similarly, you can select each cell and click Merge & Center to center align all the cells.

Read More: How to Change Alignment in Excel (5 Easy Methods)

Things to Remember

• If you are a Mac user, you can use the Cmd+E to center align.
• Alternatively, to Merge & Center, you can use Alt > H > M > C.
• To open the Format Cells window, use the Ctrl+1 shortcut key to save time.

Conclusion

I hope that you were able to apply the methods that I showed in this tutorial on how to center align in excel. As you can see, there are quite a few ways to achieve this. So wisely choose the method that suits your situation best. If you get stuck in any of the steps, I recommend going through them a few times to clear up any confusion. Lastly, to learn more excel techniques, follow our ExcelDemy website. If you have any queries, please let me know in the comments.

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