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How to Indent in Excel

Add indentations to some or all contents within a spreadsheet cell

By Scott Orgera Scott Orgera Writer Scott Orgera is a former Lifewire writer covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCP+I, and MOUS. He is also A+ certified. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on November 2, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email MS Office Excel Word Powerpoint Outlook

What to Know

Select the cells you want to indent and go to Home > Alignment > Increase Indent.Select Increase Indent again to add more space. To remove the indentation, choose the cells again, then select Decrease Indent.To indent individual selections in a cell, select them and go to Home > Alignment > Wrap Text. Manually indent the second line of text. Excel spreadsheets help you organize, manipulate, and share data, but sometimes text formatting is as important. You may need to indent text in an Excel cell when using a specific layout or adding a paragraph, for example. Here's how to use Excel's built-in indenting function in Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel Online, Excel 2019, and Excel 2016.

How to Indent the Contents of a Cell or Set of Cells

If your spreadsheet has text elements, adding indents might help readability. Select the cell or cells containing the content you want to indent. Go to the Home tab. In the Alignment section, select Increase Indent. The icon has four horizontal lines and a right-facing arrow. The text in the selected cells is indented. To add more indentation space, select Increase Indent again. To remove the indentation space, select the cells and then select Decrease Indent. This icon has four horizontal lines with a left-facing arrow.

How to Indent Individual Selections Within a Cell

If your text is too long to fit in a cell, wrap the text to the next line. However, if you want to indent the next line, you cannot use the Increase Indent feature. There's an easy workaround. Here's how it works: Select the cell containing the text that's too long. Go to the Home tab and, in the Alignment section, select Wrap Text. The text extends to two lines. Select the text in the cell before the second line of text and press Alt+Enter on a PC or Option+Return on a Mac. Press the spacebar a few times to add a manual indent to the second line of text. Adjust to your preferences. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Indent in Word and Use Tabs and Rulers How to Make a Calendar In Excel How to Merge and Unmerge Cells in Excel How to Make a Checklist in Google Docs How to Wrap Text in Google Sheets How to Change the Number of Decimal Places in Excel How to Indent Text or Decrease Quote Level in iPhone Mail How to Strikethrough In Excel How to Make a Schedule in Excel How to Wrap Text in Google Slides How to Use APA Format in Google Docs How to Use the Excel MID Function How to Do a Block Quote in Google Docs How to Wrap Text and Formulas on Multiple Lines in Excel How to Use the Google Spreadsheets AVERAGE Function How to Split Cells in Excel Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies