Centering Across Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 21, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Excel has a nifty feature that allows you to format your headings to look better on the printed page. You can center the contents of a cell so that it is spread across several columns. For instance, if the body of your worksheet is six columns wide, you can center your headings across all six columns. Applying this type of formatting is very easy:

  1. In the left-most cell of the range in which you want the text centered, enter the text.
  2. Select the range of cells across which you want the text centered.
  3. Click on the Center Across Columns tool on the toolbar.

If you later enter anything in one of the other cells in the range you specified in step X, the centering is effectively canceled. This is because Excel recognizes that centering is impossible to do when there is something "blocking" the way. To recenter, you need to remove the offending cell.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1942) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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