How to Change Cell or Column Widths in Excel

There are a variety of different ways that you can change the width of cells or columns in Microsoft Excel. Knowing these different options will give you greater control over the structure of your Excel worksheet.

To change a single column width visually:
Place the cursor over the right vertical column separator. For example, to make column D wider, place the cursor on the column separator between columns D and E.

Then, when the cursor changes to a plus sign, click your mouse and drag left or right.

To determine the width value of a column:

If you want to know the width of a column, place the cursor on the right vertical separator line of the column. When the cursor changes to a + sign, press and hold the left mouse button. Excel will show you the column width value.

To change a single column width using a value:

Place the cursor over the column heading (A, B, etc.). When the cursor changes to a downward arrow, right click and click Column Width. Enter a number, and click OK.

In general, for the default fonts of Cambria (Excel 2007) and Arial (prior releases), with a font-size of 10 and a column width of 10, the column will hold about 10 numbers.

To have Excel automatically size a column width:

To ask Excel to automatically define the width of a column to fit the widest value, double-click on the vertical separator bar on the right side of the column heading.
Optionally, in Excel 2007, click on the column heading, click Format on the Cell section on the Home tab, and click AutoFit Column Width.

To make every cell in the spreadsheet the same width:

First, select every cell in the worksheet by clicking the “Select All” square - which is the upper-most portion of the spreadsheet located above row 1 and to the left of column A. Then find the Cells section of the Home tab. Click Format, click Column Width, and enter a number.

To have Excel automatically size all the column widths:

To ask Excel to automatically define the width of each column to fit the widest value, first, select every cell in the worksheet by clicking the “Select All” square - which is the upper-most portion of the spreadsheet located above row 1 and to the left of column A. Then, on the Cells section of the Home tab, click Format and click AutoFit Column Width.

If you are new to Excel, check out our popular tutorial Excel Made Easy: A Beginner's Guide at KeynoteSupport.com. We also have great tutorials for advanced Excel users.