XL: Text Is Wrapped Incorrectly When Entered in a Cell

ID: Q176472

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you enter text in a cell, and then press ENTER or RETURN, a character may move from one line to the next line in the cell.

For example, the behavior is described in the following table.

   Appearance of          Appearance of text after
   entered text           you press ENTER or RETURN
   -------------------------------------------------

   ReviewCycleIII         ReviewCycleII
                          I

   Alphabravoch           Alphabravoc
   arlie                  harlie

This problem may cause text that appears on a single line when you enter it to appear on two lines.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

You select the cell, click Cells on the Format menu, click the Alignment tab, click Wrap Text, and then click OK.
```
    -and-
```
The text you are entering in the cell is almost exactly the same width as the cell.
```
    -and-
```
The text contains a single word that is too long to be displayed on a single line.

Specifically, the problem occurs because the space that is enclosed by the cell outline (the border that indicates which cell is currently selected) increases slightly in width when you edit the cell. If the text is almost exactly the same width as this space, Microsoft Excel wraps the text when you press ENTER or RETURN. This behavior occurs because the space that is enclosed by the cell outline decreases slightly in width.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do either of the following:

Either increase or decrease the width of the column that contains the cell in which the problem occurs.
```
    -or-
```
Increase or decrease the size of the font you use in the cell so that the text does not exactly fill the space inside the cell outline.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel, you can wrap text in a single cell by applying the Wrap Text format to the cell. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell to which you want to apply the format.

2. On the Format menu, click Cells. Select the Alignment tab.

3. Click to select the Wrap Text check box, and then click OK.

When you enter text into the cell, the text is automatically wrapped to multiple lines if necessary.

Additional query words: XL5 XL7 XL97

Keywords          : xlformat 
Version           : MACINTOSH:5.0,5.0a,98; WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0,7.0a,97
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: January 8, 1999