How To Google Sheets Make Text Fit In Cell

Last Updated on October 31, 2023 by Jake Sheridan

In this tutorial, you will learn google sheets how to make text fit in cell.

While it’s often quite easy to enter data in Google Sheets, sometimes it’s harder to read that data once it’s been entered. Google Sheets has many features to help analyze and clarify numbers, but sometimes the problem comes from simple text, especially when the text somehow doesn’t fit in the cell so doesn’t display properly. While text that doesn’t fit in its cell can be frustrating, there are a number of ways to handle this issue. Read on to learn a few tips and tricks to make your text fit perfectly in the cell.

Text Wrapping Method

If the text doesn’t fit in the cell because it spills over the edge like in the screenshot below, often the best solution is to make the text wrap.

Step 1

Select the cell you want to change the text wrap for and click on the Text Wrapping toolbar icon, then select the Wrap option

Step 2

The text will wrap onto as many lines as needed for it to fit in the current column width. Unless you have manually set the row height, it will adjust as needed so all the text displays in the cell

Cell Resize Method

Sometimes the cell size itself is the reason text doesn’t fit. This can happen if the column width is too narrow, or if the row height has been manually set so it doesn’t update automatically to fit its contents.

Here’s how to resize the cell:

Step 1

To adjust column width, click on the left-hand boundary between that column and the next. Your cursor will change to a two-ended resize arrow, and a vertical blue line will appear

Step 2

Drag to resize the column

Step 3

If the cell is too short, the row height can be set in much the same way as the column width. Simply click on the bottom boundary of the row number and drag and drop to resize

Step 4

The text should now fit in the cell

Cell Merge Method

The last method should be used when text wrapping doesn’t give the desired effect on its own and resizing the cell messes up other portions of the spreadsheet. Here’s now to merge cells to make text fit:

Step 1

Select the cell in question and a range of cells after it. You can select cells to the right of the cell, underneath it, or both. Note that only the data in the top-left cell will be preserved after merging.

Step 2

Click on the Merge Cells button in the toolbar

Step 3

The cells will be merged and if enough cells were selected, the text will fit nicely in the new merged cell. Note that this method can be combined with the text wrapping method, as in the screenshot below

Summary

Example Spreadsheet: Make a copy of the example spreadsheet

In this tutorial, I covered google sheets and how to make text fit in cell. Want more? Check out all the Google Sheets Tutorials.