Microsoft Excel: 5 Ways to Enlarge Cells in Your Spreadsheet

Learn how to increase or decrease the size of Excel cells

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: June 20, 2024 Fact Checked

Do you have data in your spreadsheet that doesn't fit into cells nicely? This wikiHow will teach you all of the ways to adjust cell size in Microsoft Excel on Windows and Mac.

How to Make Excel Cells Bigger or Smaller

There are several ways to change cell size in Excel. To set a cell to a specific size, highlight it and click Format > Row Height or Column Width and change the number. You can also click and drag the boundaries of a row or column to change the size. Individual cells can be merged to make them bigger, as well.

1

Setting a Specific Size

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Set the size for a column or row in the Format menu. Start by highlighting the row or column that you want to change the cell sizes of. Then, click the Format button in the "Cells" section of the Home tab.
- Under "Cell Size," set the Row Height and/or Column Width. Click OK to save your changes.
- You can also change the size of a row or column by highlighting it, right-clicking the heading (Cmd-clicking on Mac), and selecting Row Height or Column Width in the contextual menu.
- To select multiple rows or columns, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Cmd (macOS) as you click rows or columns. You can also click and drag to select rows or columns next to each other.

2

Using the Mouse

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Click and drag the row and column boundaries to resize them. To resize the cells in a row, drag the boundary below the row heading. To resize the cells in a column, drag the boundary to the right of the column heading.As you drag the boundary down (rows) or right (columns), the cell size will increase, and as you drag the boundary up (rows) or to the left (columns), the cell size will decrease.
- To select multiple rows or columns, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Cmd (macOS) as you click rows or columns. You can also click and drag to select rows or columns next to each other.

3

Merging Cells

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Make custom-sized cells that aren't constrained by columns or rows. To do this, select all of the cells you want to merge into one large cell and click the Merge & Center button in the "Alignment" category of the Home tab.^{[1]
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- To select multiple cells, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Cmd (macOS) as you click cells. You can also click and drag to select cells next to each other.
- If you change the size of a column or row that's part of a merged cell, the merged cell will get larger or smaller as well.

4

Copying and Pasting Cell Sizes

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Match a column or row's size to another column or row. Select a column, row, or cell that you want to copy the height or width of and press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on Mac). Then, right-click (Cmd-click on Mac) on the column or row you want to resize and select Paste Special > Keep Source Columns Width.
- Even if you're copying a row, you'll still select Keep Source Columns Width as there is no row-equivalent button.
- To select multiple rows or columns, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Cmd (macOS) as you click rows or columns. You can also click and drag to select rows or columns next to each other.

5

Change Cell Size to Fit Content

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Use autofit to make a row or column automatically fit cell contents. Start by highlighting the row or column that you want to change the cell sizes of. Then, click the Format button in the "Cells" section of the Home tab.
- Under "Cell Size," set the AutoFit Row Height and/or AutoFit Column Width. Click OK to save your changes.
- To select multiple rows or columns, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Cmd (macOS) as you click rows or columns. You can also click and drag to select rows or columns next to each other.
- You can also change columns or rows to autofit their content by double-clicking the right boundary (for columns) or the bottom boundary (for rows).^{[2]
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