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: Creating a Center Across Selection Button.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 6, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Excel includes a handy tool that you can use to merge cells and center whatever is within those merged cells. (This tool is available on the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Alignment group.) The problem with this tool is that it merges prior to centering, and you might not want any merged cells in your worksheet.
Fortunately, Excel includes the capability of centering information across a range of cells, without merging them. There is no native tool on any ribbon tab that can perform this task. You can, however, display the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box and use the Horizontal drop-down list to choose Center Across Selection. Doing this frequently within a worksheet can be a pain, but you can create your own tool to center information across whatever cells you've selected:
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:
Sub CenterAcrossColumns()
With Selection
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection
.MergeCells = False
End With
End Sub
Once you have the macro, you can assign it to a shortcut key or the Quick Access Toolbar.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12183) 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: Creating a Center Across Selection Button.
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2023-01-29 12:18:58
J. Woolley
As with most user macros, the Tip's CenterAcrossColumns macro does not support Undo. After running the macro, pressing Ctrl+Z will not restore the selection's previous horizontal alignment. On the other hand, My Excel Toolbox includes a CenterAcrossSelection macro with support for both Undo (Ctrl+Z) and Redo/Repeat (Ctrl+Y). It can also be assigned to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT). Here is an abbreviated version:
Public Sub CenterAcrossSelection()
CenterAcross_Do Action:=0 ' Do
End Sub
Private Sub CenterAcross_Do(Action As Integer)
Static WB As Workbook, WS As Worksheet, R As Range, HA As Variant
Dim sProc As String
Const sName As String = "CenterAcross"
If Action = 0 Then ' Do
Set WB = ActiveWorkbook
Set WS = ActiveSheet
Set R = Selection
HA = R.HorizontalAlignment
Else ' Undo or Redo
WB.Activate
WS.Activate
R.Select
End If
sProc = ThisWorkbook.Name & "!" & sName
If Action >= 0 Then ' Do or Redo
R.HorizontalAlignment = xlHAlignCenterAcrossSelection
Application.OnUndo ("Undo " & sName), (sProc & "_Undo")
Else ' Undo
R.HorizontalAlignment = HA
Application.OnRepeat ("Redo " & sName), (sProc & "_Redo")
End If
End Sub
Private Sub CenterAcross_Undo()
CenterAcross_Do Action:=-1 ' Undo
End Sub
Private Sub CenterAcross_Redo()
CenterAcross_Do Action:=1 ' Redo
End Sub
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox
2022-08-06 10:21:10
J. Woolley
This is only useful if your selection is contiguous with multiple adjacent cells in the same row but only one non-blank cell in that row. The selection can include more than one row, but each row should satisfy the previous condition. For each such row, the centering begins with the non-blank cell.
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.
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