Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Setting Orientation of Cell Values.

Setting Orientation of Cell Values

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 9, 2022)

Excel allows you to easily adjust how you want information to appear within a cell. The Alignment tab within the Format Cells dialog box allows you to specify how information should be oriented (in which direction the text should be printed). You can set orientation in the following manner:

  1. Select the cells whose orientation you want to change.
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the small icon at the lower-right corner of the Number group. Excel displays the Format Cells dialog box.
  4. Click on the Alignment tab. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

  5. Use the Orientation section to specify the angle (in degrees) at which the cell contents should be turned. You can set any value between 90 degrees and —90 degrees.
  6. Click on OK. Your cell contents are turned as you directed.
  7. Format your columns to so their width is better suited to the new text orientation.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7130) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Setting Orientation of Cell Values.

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

Deleting Every X Rows

Grab some info from a source other than Excel, and you may find the need to delete a certain pattern of rows from a ...

Discover More

Two-Line Headings in a TOC

If you use the TC field to mark what goes in a TOC, you may wonder why if you mark two lines together with the field, ...

Discover More

Restrictions on Hyperlinks

Word allows you to add active hyperlinks to your document. If the hyperlinks don't work properly when you follow them, ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Indenting Cell Contents

Excel allows you to apply several types of alignments to cells. One type of alignment allows you to indent cell contents ...

Discover More

Automatically Copying Formatting

It's easy to automatically set the contents of one cell to be equal to another cell. But what if you want to copy the ...

Discover More

Replacing Background Colors in Cells

Want a quick way to replace background colors in cells? It's easy to do using Find and Replace, or you can simply use the ...

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.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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 seven more than 1?

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 ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu 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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.