Converting Cells to Proper Case

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 31, 2026)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Have you ever run into people who insist on typing everything with the Caps Lock key on? In some worksheets, that may not be acceptable. Yet, there you are, with a worksheet full of text cells that are all in uppercase. How do you convert everything to upper- and lowercase, without the need to retype?

If you find yourself in this situation, the MakeProper macro may do the trick for you. It will examine a range of cells, which you select, and then convert any constants to what Excel refers to as "proper case." This simply means that when you are done, the first letter of each word in a cell will be uppercase; the rest will be lowercase. If a cell contains a formula, it is ignored.

Sub MakeProper()
    Dim rngSrc As Range
    Dim lMax As Long, lCtr As Long

    Set rngSrc = ActiveSheet.Range(ActiveWindow.Selection.Address)
    lMax = rngSrc.Cells.Count

    For lCtr = 1 To lMax
        If Not rngSrc.Cells(lCtr).HasFormula Then
            rngSrc.Cells(lCtr) = Application.Proper(rngSrc.Cells(lCtr))
        End If
    Next lCtr
End Sub

If you would rather convert all the text in the range into lowercase, you can instead use the following macro, MakeLower().

Sub MakeLower()
    Dim rngSrc As Range
    Dim lMax As Long, lCtr As Long

    Set rngSrc = ActiveSheet.Range(ActiveWindow.Selection.Address)
    lMax = rngSrc.Cells.Count

    For lCtr = 1 To lMax
        If Not rngSrc.Cells(lCtr).HasFormula Then
            rngSrc.Cells(lCtr) = LCase(rngSrc.Cells(lCtr))
        End If
    Next lCtr
End Sub

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2026) 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Removing a Toolbar Button

Need to remove a toolbar button, but don't want to go through the hassle of displaying the Configure dialog box? You can ...

Discover More

Keep Your Headings in View

When working with lots of data rows, it is easy to forget what the column headings say. Here's how to keep those headings ...

Discover More

Adding Diagonal Borders

Borders on all sides of a cell are easy to do in Excel. You can also create diagonal borders that run right through the ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Converting Numbers Into Words

Write out a check and you need to include the digits for the amount of the check and the value of the check written out ...

Discover More

Displaying the Selected Cell's Address

Need to know the address of the cell that is currently selected? There is no worksheet function to return this ...

Discover More

Easily Adding Blank Rows

Want to add a bunch of blank rows to a your data and have those rows interspersed among your existing rows? Here's a ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two less than 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.