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: Setting Vertical Alignment.

Setting Vertical Alignment

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated September 18, 2015)

2

Excel provides several different ways you can align information from top to bottom (vertically) within a cell. You set the alignment by first selecting the cells you want to format and then displaying the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box. (See Figure 1.) (To display the dialog box, choose Cells from the Format menu.)

Figure 1. The Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

On the Alignment tab, use the Vertical drop-down list to make your selection. There are four different alignment options available in Excel 97 and Excel 2000, and five in later versions of Excel:

  • Top. The information in the cell is situated such that the top line of text appears at the top of the cell.
  • Center. Information is centered half-way between the top and bottom borders of the cell.
  • Bottom. This is the default vertical alignment. Information is aligned at the bottom of the cell.
  • Justify. Text is spread evenly throughout the cell. The information within the cell is wrapped within the column (if necessary), and the row height is adjusted so that all lines fit within the cell and so all information reaches both the top and bottom borders of the cell. Column width is not affected at all.
  • Distributed. This option is available in Excel 2002 or later versions. When selected, text is spread evenly between the top of the cell and the bottom. Effectively, blank space is placed between each line so that the complete cell is filled.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2124) 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: Setting Vertical Alignment.

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

Error Generated if Files Opened in Word Session

Greg has a problem with Word 2002 crashing, depending on how he opens files. This seems to be a problem that Microsoft knows ...

Discover More

Different Ways of Inserting Dates

Word provides a couple of different ways you can insert the current date into a document. Which method should you choose? ...

Discover More

Determining the Day of the Year

Need to find out the day of the year for a particular date? It's easy to do if you are using a macro. All you need to do is ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

No New Fonts Error

Sometimes Excel does things that may appear just plain wacky. This particular tip deals with an issue that could crop up when ...

Discover More

Decimal Tab Alignment

If you are familiar with decimal tabs in Word, you may wonder if you can set the same sort of alignment in Excel. The short ...

Discover More

Determining Font Formatting

If you need to determine the font applied to a particular cell, you'll need to use a macro. This tip presents several ...

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}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. 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 eight minus 8?

2017-07-23 17:48:18

Keith DARVILL

In the Format Cells text box, can you set the Vertical Alignment to permanently go to Top as the default?

2012-10-01 05:28:36

web solusi

Dear,

Thank you for information that you put on this site.
But, how to make padding cells on the Excel like padding cells style on the web.
Example : margin-top: 20px, margin-rignt:10 px, etc.

Please Help me.

Regards
Web Solusi
http://it-check.blogspot.com

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 AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.