Excel Cell Size (Change and Adjust)

In this Excel tutorial, you will learn everything about adjusting and changing cell size in Excel. We will discuss a total of 10 easy ways to change and adjust cell size in Excel. We will also discuss how to secure cell size by protecting the worksheet in Excel. Moreover, you will learn the benefits of changing cell size in Excel.

While working with Microsoft Excel, we sometimes need to change the size of a cell to make the entire worksheet look better. By default, each cell on an Excel sheet is the same size. We can change them according to our requirements. We believe you find this article beneficial and informative. So let’s begin our main discussion.

Note: While preparing this article, we used Microsoft 365, but the operations apply to all versions.

Download Practice Workbook

For a better understanding, you can download the practice workbook from here:

Changing Cell Size.xlsx

What Is a Cell in Excel?

A cell is an individual rectangular unit within an Excel worksheet grid where data can be entered, stored, and manipulated. The column letter and row number, such as A1, B2, C3, etc., are used to identify cells. Each cell can contain a variety of data categories, such as numbers, text, formulas, and dates. Also, you can select multiple cells simultaneously, known as a cell range.

How to Change and Adjust Excel Cell Size?

As we’ve already said, this article will cover every way to change or adjust the size of an Excel cell. To make you understand better, we have taken a dataset of 8 rows and 3 columns including ID, Name, and Department.

1. Adjust Row and Column Size Using Mouse

In this first method, we will adjust the row and column size using a mouse. To do so,

First, select the cell you want to resize. In our case, it is cell D5.
Then take the mouse cursor over the right edge of the heading of column D. The cursor looks like a Double Arrow.
Now, drag it left or right until it sets to the desired width.

Similarly, take the mouse cursor over the bottom edge of Row 5 and drag it up or down when it turns into a Double Arrow.

Thus, we can adjust the row and column size like shown in the picture below using a mouse.

2. Use Excel Format Feature to Set Cell Size Numerically

In this part, we will use the Excel Format feature to set cell size numerically. Let’s go through the below part:

2.1. Using Row Height

Select the cell you want to resize. In our case, it is cell D10.
From the Home tab >>> go to Format >>> then select Row Height.

Type 25 in the Row Height box and click OK.

As a result, we will get the result like the picture below.

2.2. Using Column Width

Select cell D10.
From the Home tab >>> go to Format >>> then select Column Width.

Type 25 in the Column Width box and click OK.

Thus, we will get the result like the picture below.

3. Automatically Fix Cell Size Containing Value in Excel

Suppose, we want to fix automatically every cell size in a decent size that is adjustable to the contained value. Let’s see how to do that.

First, select all worksheet cells by clicking the top left arrow (Select All button).
Then, put the mouse cursor at the column border and double-click on it.

Now, take the cursor to the row border and double-click on it too.

Finally, we can see the result below. Here, we change the font size to fit the text in the fixed cell.

4. Adjust Cell Size Using AutoFit Row Height and Column Width

Now, we will use AutoFit to adjust the cell size in our dataset. Follow the steps below:

Select the range B4:D11 where we want to apply AutoFit.
From the Home tab >> Format >> select AutoFit Column Width.

This will AutoFit the columns.
Now to AutoFit the rows, from the Home tab >> Format >> select AutoFit Row Height.

Thus we will get our dataset like in the picture below. Here, we change the font size to fit the text in the fixed cell.

5. Change Font Size to Fix Excel Cell Size

To fix Excel cell sizes, sometimes we need to change the font size. Here we are going to apply this method in cell B5. Let’s go through the following steps:

Select cell B5 and go to the Home tab.
Then, from the Font section, set the font size to 24 and press Enter.
At that point, the font size and cell size of cell B5 both have changed.

Thus we can change cell size by changing font size like the picture below.

6. Use Context Menu to Set Cell Size

Suppose, we want to fix the size of cell B5. We can easily fix this with Context Menu. To know how to set the cell size with the context menu, follow the below steps:

First, select the entire column B.
Now, take the cursor to the selected column header and right-click on the mouse.
Now, select the Column Width option from the Context Menu.

Enter the required column width 18 in the Column Width text box and click Ok.
The column width will be changed.

Now, select row 5 and right-click on the mouse.
Select the Row Height option from the context menu.

Enter the required row height of 25 in the Row Height text box and click Ok.
The row height will be changed.

Thus we can easily use the context menu to set the cell size like in the below picture.

7. Change Cell Size by Merging Multiple

We can merge two columns to change our cell size. Suppose, we want to merge columns D and E of our dataset to change the cell size. To do so follow the below steps:

Select cell range D5:E5.
Now from the Home tab>> Merge & Center>> Merge Cells.

As a result, the cell range will be merged.
Similarly, we can perform the same actions on the rest of the cells. Remember, we need to select the cells one by one.
The final output result will be like this:

8. Fix Cell Size with Keyboard Shortcuts

Now we will discuss some keyboard shortcuts to fix cell size in Excel:

Press Alt + H, O, H to open the Adjust Row Height option.
If we want to open the Autofit Row Height option then hit Alt +H, O, A keys.
Alt +H, O, W keys are used to open the Adjust Column Width option.
We need to press Alt + H, O, I keys from the keyboard for opening the Autofit Column Width option.

9. Make All Cells Bigger at Once in Excel

We can make all cells bigger at once in Excel. Here are the required steps:

First, select all worksheet cells by clicking the top left arrow (Select All button).
Then take the mouse cursor over the right edge of the heading of column B and click on that. The cursor looks like a Double Arrow.
Hold your click with your mouse and increase the column width.

In the next step, click on the double arrow between rows 2 and 3, and hold the click.
Now, hold your mouse down and increase the row height.

Thus you can make all cells bigger in your Excel worksheet at once.

10. Increase Zoom to Make Cells Look Bigger

You can increase the zoom level of the worksheet if you just want the cells to be bigger. You can zoom in and out of Excel by using the zoom scroll in the bottom right corner.

How to Secure Cell Size by Protecting Worksheet in Excel?

Sometimes we share our Excel workbook with others. So we can protect our worksheet to secure the cell size. Follow the below steps to learn how to do that:

Go to the Review tab>> then Protect>> select Protect Sheet.

We can see a Protect Sheet window popping up.
Input a password in the “Password to unprotect sheet” box.
Now, check on all the boxes except two (see below screenshot) and click OK.

Here, a Confirm Password message box pops up.
Reenter the password and click OK.

Now, if we go to the Home tab >> Format feature, we can see that all the Cell Size options are grayed out.

Thus we can secure cell size by protecting the worksheet in Excel.

What Are the Benefits of Changing Cell Size in Excel?

Improved Readability: Adjusting cell size helps you to optimize the presentation of data within cells. Increasing the width or height of a cell can prevent the compression of text or numbers, making the content simpler to read and comprehend.
Efficient Data Entry: By resizing cells, you can create additional space for data entry. Enlarging cells may reduce the need for horizontal or vertical scrolling, making data entry faster and more convenient.
Data Visualization: When making charts or graphs in Excel, changing the size of a cell is very helpful. It lets you widen cells to make room for chart names, titles, or legends. This makes sure that the way data is shown visually is clear and complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How big is a cell in Excel?

Answer: Excel cells are not measured in inches or centimeters. In terms of characters or pixels, a cell’s size is determined by its width and height. By default, Excel uses a standard width and height for cells, where each column is approximately 8.43 characters wide and each row is approximately 15 pixels high when using the default font and font size.

2. How can I wrap text within a cell in Excel?

Answer: To wrap text within a cell in Excel, select the cell or range of cells, go to the “Home” tab, and click on the “Wrap Text” button in the “Alignment” group. This will allow the cell’s contents to wrap within the available space, displaying multiple lines of text if needed. You can also use the shortcut “Alt+Enter” while editing the cell to insert line breaks manually.

3. Do cells have a size limit?

Answer: Yes, Excel cells have a size limitation. The size limit depends on the Excel version and the maximum amount of characters a cell may show. Excel 2019, 2016, and 2013 allow 32,767 characters per cell. This includes both visible characters and formatting codes. Excel 2010 and 2007 also restrict characters to 32,767. Cells can display 32,767 characters but can hold 1,048,576 characters, including those that are not displayed. Even if a cell has more than 32,767 characters, just the top 32,767 will be shown.

Key Takeaways from the Article

In this article, we have explained what a cell is in Excel.
We have discussed a total of 10 easy ways to change and adjust cell size in Excel.
We have shown some shortcuts as well.
We also explained how to secure cell size by protecting the worksheet in Excel.
Showed a step-by-step procedure of all methods.
Discussed some of the benefits of changing cell size in Excel.
Provide solutions to frequently asked questions by readers.

Conclusion

This article covers every possible way to change or adjust the size of an Excel cell with some easy ways. We discussed some shortcuts as well. We also explained how to secure cell size by protecting the worksheet in Excel. Don’t forget to download the Practice file. Please let us know in the comment section if you have any queries or suggestions.

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