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: Understanding Cell Indenting.
When you think of indenting information, you normally think of a word processor. It is not unusual to indent paragraphs or specific lines of information on the screen. Excel, while definitely not a word processor, allows you to easily indent information within a cell.
To set the indent to be used in a cell, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box.
Each number of indent moves the contents of the cell about one character width to the right. (There goes that strange character measurement system in Excel again.) You can also control the indentation of cell contents by using the two indent tools on the Formatting toolbar. Each click of a tool moves the cell contents one position to the left or right.
If you have set up a cell so that text wraps within the cell, then indentation affects all the lines of text within the cell—not just the first line.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3270) 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: Understanding Cell Indenting.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
Want to change the size of the font within a worksheet? Excel allows you to choose from a list of sizes, as well as ...
Discover MoreKeyboard shortcuts can save time and make developing a workbook much easier. Here's how to apply the most common of ...
Discover MoreProfessional typesetting has, in many ways, spoiled us. One way this is evident is in the preference we show for making ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2017-04-06 13:28:45
Mark
Perhaps we should just disregard my comment about indenting below...I can't even demonstrate what I'm talking about here as the web page won't let me do a simple indent LOL
2017-04-06 13:26:42
Mark
Is there no way to do proper indentation within a cell in Excel? I seem to be only able to indent the entire cell, and not just the individual text within a cell. For instance:
1. When I add a number or bullet I want that number to be where the block of text begins (like you can do in MS Word). So in Excel, when the line continues to the next line it looks like this, and the number overlaps the text.
2. However, when I do this in MS Word it allows me to indent individual lines of text (it will do this automatically with bullets and numbering, but one
can do it manually too if needed). The text is not overlapped by the number in this case. It just makes one's report appear cleaner and is easier to
follow. I could add a new column too I suppose (i.e. one just for numbering and bullets), but it would be so much easier I could just do this in the cell
itself. Very strange that I have not been able to find a way to do this in Excel.
2016-10-17 00:47:36
Jenni
Hi Allen
I know how to do this, however I'd like the indent to be part way between 0 and 1. However when I try to enter a decimal (0.5) Excel informs me it's not valid.
Is there a way to do this simply?
Thank you
Jenni
2015-11-11 08:57:42
John R
I use 'Format Cells' everyday, and I mean every day. I didn't even notice this Ident button. I knew it was there but like wallpaper you accept it as it is and just carried on without it. Thanks for the quick bullet point guide
2015-07-29 10:59:46
Amy
Really helped- thank you!
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 © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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: 
Comments