To add a new line inside a single Excel cell, place the cursor where you want the break and press Alt + Enter on Windows. Excel keeps the text in the same cell but moves everything after the cursor to a new line.
Insert a line break in an Excel cell
- Double-click the cell you want to edit, or select it and press F2.
- Click immediately before the text that should begin on the next line.
- Press Alt + Enter.
- Press Enter when you are finished editing the cell.
You can add several line breaks to the same cell by repeating Alt + Enter at each location. This is useful for addresses, short lists, labels, or notes that would otherwise make a column unnecessarily wide.
If the second line is not visible
Turn on Wrap Text from the Home tab. Excel normally adjusts the row height automatically, but a row with a manually fixed height may need to be resized. You can double-click the lower boundary of the row heading to AutoFit it.
A line break is different from moving to another cell. Pressing Enter by itself finishes the edit and normally selects the cell below. Alt + Enter inserts a break while you are still editing the current cell.
Add line breaks with a formula
If you are combining text with a formula, use CHAR(10) as the line-break character. For example, =A2&CHAR(10)&B2 places the value from B2 below the value from A2. Wrap Text must be enabled for the break to display properly.
If you plan to sort, filter, or analyze the information later, consider whether the values really belong in separate cells instead. A line break improves appearance, but it does not turn the lines into separate data fields.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
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