Format Cells

Click an option in the Category box, and then select the options that you want to specify a number format. The Sample box shows how selected cells will look with the formatting you choose. Click Custom if you want to create your own custom formats for numbers, such as product codes.

Shows how your document will look with the options you select.

Select an option in the Horizontal list box to change the horizontal alignment of cell contents. By default, Microsoft Excel aligns text to the left, numbers to the right, and logical and error values are centered. The default horizontal alignment is General. Changing the alignment of data does not change the data type.

Select an option in the Vertical box to change the vertical alignment of cell contents. By default, Microsoft Excel aligns text vertically on the bottom of a cell. The default horizontal alignment is General.

Indents cell contents from any edge of the cell, depending on your choice under Horizontal and Vertical. Each increment in the Indent box is equivalent to the width of one character.

Select an option under Orientation to change the orientation of text in selected cells. Rotation options may not be available if other alignment options are selected.

Sets the amount of text rotation in the selected cell. Use a positive number in the Degree box to rotate the selected text from lower left to upper right in the cell. Use negative degrees to rotate text from upper left to lower right in the selected cell.

Select options under Text control to adjust how you want text to appear in a cell.

Wraps text into multiple lines in a cell. The number of wrapped lines is dependent on the width of the column and the length of the cell contents.

Reduces the apparent size of font characters so that all data in a selected cell fits within the column. The character size is adjusted automatically if you change the column width. The applied font size is not changed.

Combines two or more selected cells into a single cell. The cell reference for a merged cell is the upper-left cell in the original selected range.

Select an option in the Text direction box to specify reading order and alignment.

You can type any number between 1 and 1638. The sizes in the Size list depend on the selected font and active printer.

Select the Normal Font check box to reset the font, font style, size, and effects to the Normal (default) style.

Select border options under Presets to apply borders to or remove borders from selected cells.

Select an option under Style to specify the line size and style for a border. If you want to change a line style on a border that already exists, select the line style option you want, and then click the area of the border in the Border model where you want the new line style to appear.

Select a color from the list to change the color of the selected text or object.

Click a line style in the Style box, and then click the buttons under Presets or Border to apply borders to the selected cells. To remove all borders, click the None button. You can also click areas in the text box to add or remove borders.

Select a background color in the Color box, then select a pattern in the Pattern box to format the selection with color patterns.

Prevents selected cells from being changed, moved, resized, or deleted. Locking cells has no effect unless the sheet is protected. To protect a sheet, point to Protection on the Tools menu, click Protect sheet, and then select the Contents check box.

Hides a formula in a cell so that it doesn't appear in the formula bar when the cell is selected. If you select this option, it has no effect unless the sheet is protected. To protect a sheet, point to Protection on the Tools menu, click Protect sheet, and then select the Contents check box.