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: Changing Font Sizes.

Changing Font Sizes

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.

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

Changing Chart Type

Excel allows you to add two distinct types of charts to your workbooks: embedded or chart sheets. You can switch between ...

Discover More

Deleting a Range of Pages

Need to delete a range of pages out of the middle of your document? It's easy to do using editing techniques you already ...

Discover More

Working in Feet and Inches

Your chosen occupation may require that you work with linear distances in feet and inches. Excel can do this, to a ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Setting Vertical Alignment

Excel allows you to adjust not only the horizontal alignment of values in a cell, but also the vertical alignment. This ...

Discover More

Adjusting Cell Margins for More White Space

Is the information in your cells too jammed up? Here are some ways you can add some white space around that information ...

Discover More

Understanding Monospace Fonts

Information in a worksheet needs to be displayed using fonts. If you understand the two different types of fonts ...

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.

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 five minus 3?

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.