How to Justify Text in Excel (3 Easy Ways)

In this article, we will discuss 3 easy and effective ways to justify text in Excel. The first of the 3 ways to justify text in Excel is to use the Justify command to compile text into one cell and distribute text into multiple rows. The next one of the 3 ways is to use Format Cells and Justify commands to justify text in Excel. The last one of the 3 ways to justify text in Excel is to use the Alignment group to justify text horizontally and vertically.

How to Justify Text in Excel: 3 Handy Approaches

In this tutorial, we will use the Justify command to justify text in Excel in three different ways. Firstly, we will use the Justify command to distribute the text of a single cell into multiple cells and also merge the texts from multiple cells into one cell. We will also use the Format Cells command and then Justify to justify text in a cell. Finally, we will also use the Justify command in the Alignment group to orient the text in a cell horizontally and vertically. Here, we have provided a sample data set which we will use to justify text.

1. Applying Justify Command to Justify Text in Excel

It is very common for Excel users to merge text from multiple cells into one cell. But they face problems merging them properly. Again, the users write a long text in a single cell, which exceeds the cell limit. This forces the users to distribute the text in multiple rows. But most often they cannot do it efficiently. By using the Justify command, the users can easily Merge texts into one cell or distribute text into multiple rows.

1.1 Merge Multiple Cells into One

In the image below, we have some texts in multiple rows. Therefore, we need to merge them into one cell in a row. Follow the outlined steps below to accomplish the task.

Step 1:

Firstly, you need to make sure that the cell into which you are merging the texts is in a column wide enough to hold the text.
Here, the cell is B4.

Step 2:

Secondly, select all the cells with the texts that you want to merge. In this case, the cell range is B4:B10.

Step 3:

click on the Home tab in the ribbon.
Afterward, go to the Editing group.
Then, click on the Fill command.
From the drop-down list click on the Justify command.

Step 4:

There are your selected texts of multiple cells compiled in one single cell.

1.2 Distribute Text of a Single Cell into Multiple Rows

As we can see from the image below, cell B4 can not hold the entire text. So, we need to justify the text by distributing it into multiple rows. Follow the steps below to complete the task.

Step 1:

First, select the cell containing the text.
Here, the desired cell is B4.

Step 2:

Now, select one more row than the number of rows you think can hold the text.
Here we have selected the cells in the B4:B7.

Step 3:

Firstly, click on the Home tab in the ribbon.
Secondly, go to the Editing group.
Thirdly, click on the Fill command.

Step 4:

Finally, from the drop-down list click on Justify.

Step 5:

Therefore, the sentence is distributed into 3 rows namely B4, B5, and B6 as shown in the image below

Notes:

While distributing text into multiple rows please do not type more than 255 characters in a single cell.
Otherwise, Excel will truncate the text up to 255 characters and you will not get the full text
The distributed texts do not reverse back to the single cell if you try to merge the text into one cell.

2. Using Format Cells Command to Justify Text in Excel

Excel users often write long texts in a cell. But they cannot align the text properly. These sentences do not cover the entire cell. Thus, leaving spaces to the right of the text as well as at the bottom as per the Excel default setting. The text does not look well aligned and presentable. By using Format Cells and then the Justify command, we can easily make the text look good.

2.1 Justify Text Horizontally

You can see in the image below, that the text is exceeding the cell boundary. They do not look well-oriented. Therefore, we will use the Horizontal Justify command to orient it properly. Follow the ensuing steps to do so.

Step 1:

First, select the cell containing the text.
Here, we have chosen cell B4.

Step 2:

Click on the Home tab in the ribbon.
Next, go to the Alignment group.
Then, click on the Wrap Text command.

Step 3:

Consequently, the text is contained within the cell.
But the alignment of the text is not that neat.
There are spaces at the right of each line.

Step 4:

Now, click on the right-click button.
From the options in the drop-down list select Format Cells
Format Cells command box will appear.

Step 5:

After that, from the Format Cells dialog box select the Alignment
Next, click on the Horizontal tab.
From the drop-down list select the Justify command.
Finally, click OK.

Step 6:

We can see the text is well aligned to the right. It looks neat and proper.

2.2 Justify Text Vertically

In the image below, we can see that the text in the B4 cell is not well-contained. It is also aligned at the top of the cell. This does not look neat. So we will use the Vertical Justify command to align it properly. Thus, follow the subsequent steps to justify the text vertically.

Step 1:

First, select the cell that contains the text.
Here, we have selected cell B4.

Step 2:

After that, go to the Home tab in the ribbon.
Then go to the Alignment group.
Finally, click on the Wrap Text command.

Step 3:

You can see the text is contained within the cell.
But the alignment of the text is not that neat.
There is a chunk of space at the bottom of the text. We can use that space by justifying the text vertically.

Step 4:

First, click on the right-click button.
From the drop-down list select the Format Cells command.

Step 5:

Firstly, from the Format Cells dialog box select the Alignment tab.
Secondly, click on the Vertical tab.
Thirdly, from the drop-down list select Justify.
Finally, click OK.

Step 6:

We can see that spaces are created in between the lines to make it look more attractive and presentable.

3. Utilizing Alignment Tab to Justify Text in Excel

We can use the Alignment group in the Home tab to access the Format Cells dialog box rather than using the right-click button. This too will result in a neater and more presentable text. Follow the steps below to do that.

Step 1:

First, select the cell which contains the text.
In this instance the cell is B4.

Step 2:

Go to the Home tab in the ribbon.
Hover down to the Alignment group.
Finally, click on the Wrap Text command.

Step 3:

We can see that the text is contained within the cell.
But we can align it with more precision.

Step 4:

Again, click on the Home tab.
Go to the Alignment group.
Now, select the tiny outward Arrow at the bottom right corner of the box.
This will open the Format Cells dialogue box.

Step 5:

First, from the Format Cells dialogue box select the Alignment tab.
Next, click on the Horizontal option.
From the drop-down list select Justify.

Step 6:

Afterwards, click on the Vertical Tab.
Next, from the drop-down list select Justify.
Finally, click on OK.

Step 7:

We can see the text is well aligned to the right as well as properly spaced to cover the whole cell.
Here, we have simultaneously justified the text horizontally and vertically.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the free Excel workbook from here and practice on your own.

Justify Text.xlsx

Conclusion

After going through the article, you will have a better understanding of justifying a text in Excel. It will help the reader to make their Excel text and overall workbook more attractive and presentable. It will also allow them to manage long texts more effectively. If you find it useful, please let us know in the comment section below and share any recommendations and thoughts regarding this or any other content of ours. Thank you for your time.

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How to Justify Text in Excel (3 Easy Ways)

How to Justify Text in Excel: 3 Handy Approaches