Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Creating a Center Across Selection Button.
If you have been using Excel for a decade or so, you know that in versions of the program up through Excel 95 there was a toolbar button that would center the contents of a particular cell across a number of columns. In Excel 97 this toolbar button was replaced with one that merges cells and centers the content within the merged cells. The difference, of course, between the two tools is that one merges prior to centering, and the other does not.
If you miss the old Center Across Selection button, you may wonder if you can ever get it back. (You probably know that you can do the same thing by displaying the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box and then use the Horizontal drop-down list to choose Center Across Selection.) There is no built-in Center Across Selection tool that you can use, but you can create a simple macro that will do the same thing:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: 
Sub CenterAcrossColumns()
With Selection
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection
.MergeCells = False
End With
End Sub
Once you have the macro, you can assign it to a shortcut key or a toolbar button.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1944) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Creating a Center Across Selection Button.
Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!
The error message "too many cell formats" can be difficult to fix. This tip describes ways you can attempt to get rid of ...
Discover MoreWant to draw attention to what is in a cell? What better way than to add a drop shadow to that cell! Here's how you can ...
Discover MoreIf you ever get to a situation where you can no longer format cells in a workbook, you'll realize just how important the ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2017-08-29 00:05:04
Hello Mr. Wyatt,
Your idea seems pretty good. I wanted to know if, instead of using the current selection to center, one could use a condition in another cell.
For example, say I have a number on column B that would range between 0 and 3 at every row. That number would then be used to center across the selection of the next X rows in the C column.
Example : In the B2 cell, I have a "2", so I want to center across C2 and C3. Then, in the B3 cell, I have "0", so nothing happens. Then, in the B4 cell, I have a "3", so the writing would be centered across C4, C5 and C6.
Ideally I want to do this so that I can fill the information in all the relevant cells and then in one click proceed to format the page rather than manually selecting each cell and click the macro. How would I do that ?
Thank you !
2017-07-26 21:06:47
Mert
Hi Allen,
Is there anyway I can use this Center Across Selection for rows? It works well for columns but not for rows unfortunately. I don't really want to use Merge & Center.
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments