Cell Merging and AutoFit are two Excel features that help you change the dimensions of your cells, rows or columns. You may need an extra long cell for a heading, or you may need to resize your columns or rows so that long items can be displayed. Excel makes it easy to handle both of these situations with cell merging and AutoFit.

 

If you need to put some text or a value into a cell, but the cell is too small to contain it, use the merge feature. With merge you can select a group of cells, either across a row or down a column, and combine them to form one big cell.

 

To do this, select a group of adjacent cells and click the Merge button on the formatting toolbar.

 

 

First select a group of cells.

 

 

Next, click the merge button on the formatting toolbar.

 

 

Now the group of cells you selected is merged together. Data entered into the cell will have a centre alignment. The merged cell can still but referenced in formulas, by the column letter and row number of the cell in the upper left corner of the group that the new cell was merged from.

 

You can use AutoFit to ensure that your columns and rows will accommodate data that may be longer than expected. For example, when you see a string of number signs (########) in a cell,

You know that the data is to long for the column width.

 

 

 

You can ensure that the column accommodates the longest item of data present; by double clicking on the line that divides the column letters. To adjust the column under letter M, double click on the line separating M and N (the line to the right of the column you want to AutoFit).

 

The column will automatically adjust to fit the longest data present.

 

 

 You can adjust rows with AutoFit by clicking on the line between row numbers, just below the row you want to adjust.