Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 6, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Excel specifies the size of fonts in points, a unit of measurement typically used in typesetting. A point is equal to approximately 1/72 of an inch. To change the size of a font used in a selected cell or for information selected within a cell, you use the toolbar. Just to the left of the text-attribute tools (and to the right of the font tool) is the point size tool. If you click on the arrow to the right of this field, you are presented with a drop-down list of point sizes you can specify for the current font.
To pick a point size, simply scroll through the list and choose the one you want. Click your mouse on the point size, and your text is updated. You are not limited to choosing a point size from those in the list, however. Excel allows you to specify any font size between 1 and 409 points. (This depends, of course, on the capabilities of your printer.) You can use the keyboard to enter any point size (or fractional point size) desired.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2128) 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: Changing Font Sizes.
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