Microsoft Excel measures row height in points, the same units used to measure font size. When creating reports this makes it easy to relate the height of rows to the required line spacing. This means that you can increase the line spacing simply by increasing the height of your rows.
The familiar techniques used for changing column widths (something that Excel users do far more frequently) can also be used to change row height. Firstly, we can make a selection and, in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon, we can choose Format - Row Height. Doubling Excel's default row height will give us a fair approximation of double line spacing. Multiplying the default row height by a factor of 1.5 will give you about 1 1/2 line spacing, and so forth.
Excel's AutoFit facility can also be used to automatically resize the height of rows to accommodate the largest font size contained in a given selection. To AutoFit a single row position the cursor at the bottom of the row heading and simply double-click. To AutoFit a range of rows make a selection and then double-click at the bottom of any of the row headings. The same thing can also be achieved by using Format - AutoFit Row Height in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon.
In many circumstances, row height can be completely ignored since Excel will automatically adjust the height of rows to accommodate the largest font size found on each row. For example, let's say we instheert a header row at the top of a worksheet centred across all the columns containing data. If we increase the font size of this heading, Excel will automatically increase height of the row to accommodate the new font size, pushing the rest of the data down.
Finally, we can also increase the row height interactively. This is done by positioning the cursor on the line below the row heading and dragging up or down. As you drag, Excel displays the new row height, both in points and in pixels.
When you increase the height of a row the vertical alignment of your text becomes more apparent. By default, Excel aligns text vertically at the bottom of the cell. When you have increased the row height, as is often the case with headings, changing the vertical alignment to centred is visually more appealing.
The familiar techniques used for changing column widths (something that Excel users do far more frequently) can also be used to change row height. Firstly, we can make a selection and, in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon, we can choose Format - Row Height. Doubling Excel's default row height will give us a fair approximation of double line spacing. Multiplying the default row height by a factor of 1.5 will give you about 1 1/2 line spacing, and so forth.
Excel's AutoFit facility can also be used to automatically resize the height of rows to accommodate the largest font size contained in a given selection. To AutoFit a single row position the cursor at the bottom of the row heading and simply double-click. To AutoFit a range of rows make a selection and then double-click at the bottom of any of the row headings. The same thing can also be achieved by using Format - AutoFit Row Height in the Cells section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon.
In many circumstances, row height can be completely ignored since Excel will automatically adjust the height of rows to accommodate the largest font size found on each row. For example, let's say we instheert a header row at the top of a worksheet centred across all the columns containing data. If we increase the font size of this heading, Excel will automatically increase height of the row to accommodate the new font size, pushing the rest of the data down.
Finally, we can also increase the row height interactively. This is done by positioning the cursor on the line below the row heading and dragging up or down. As you drag, Excel displays the new row height, both in points and in pixels.
When you increase the height of a row the vertical alignment of your text becomes more apparent. By default, Excel aligns text vertically at the bottom of the cell. When you have increased the row height, as is often the case with headings, changing the vertical alignment to centred is visually more appealing.
About the Author:
Author is a developer and trainer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering Microsoft Excel 2007 Classes at their central London training centre.
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