Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: 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, display the Home tab of the ribbon. Note that there are two indent tools in the Alignment group. Clicking these two tools will move the indent of the cell either to the right or back toward the left.
If you want even greater control over cell indenting, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box.
You should also know that Excel allows you to indent from either the left or right of the cell. If you use the Horizontal drop-down list (in the Format Cells dialog box), you can choose Left (Indent) or Right (Indent) alignment. The number you specify in the Indent control (step 4) applies to either left or right indenting, depending on your choice in the Horizontal drop-down list.
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 (9425) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Understanding Cell Indenting.
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 2013 For Dummies today!
Need to use a date as part of a larger string of text? Here are some handy ways to go about the process.
Discover MoreIf you want to format currency values so that Excel uses periods between groups of thousands and commas as a decimal ...
Discover MoreNeed the contents of a cell to be shown in a direction different than normal? Excel makes it easy to have your content ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2017-12-20 10:58:38
Henry Noble
Sometimes it is easier, and certainly is clearer, to create adjacent columns 1 point (12 pixels) apart, and then type indented material into the appropriate column without fussing with cell formats.
This technique makes use of the fact that Excel will carry a long entry in one cell across adjacent cells, so long as the adjacent cells are empty. Thus, names like Revenue or Product will carry across multiple "indent" columns.
2017-12-20 08:19:50
Mark Watson
For those of us who prefer the keyboard whenever possible:
Ctrl 1 = Format Cells pop-up
Right arrow = move from Number tab to Alignment tab
Tab through the various controls to effect changes
Or, (head hung in shame) switch to the mouse to complete the task.
2013-12-28 07:56:05
Michael Carman
If you are going to use indentation within a cell, it is best to ensure that the cell is first aligned all the way to the left. Indentation applied over center and right aligned cells may give you strange and unintended results.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: 
Comments