Excel wrap text not working: 6 fixes

1. Wrap Text is on but the row doesn't get taller

This is the cause nine times out of ten. Rows autofit their height to the content until someone sets a height by hand, by dragging the border or with Format > Row Height. From then on the row keeps that height, and wrapped text is cut off after the first line. Pasting rows from another sheet can bring a fixed height with them too.

The Harbor Cafe issue in C2 is a long one. With Wrap Text on and an automatic height, row 2 grows to show every line. With a fixed height, you see the first few words and nothing else.

1. Select the rows (click the row numbers, or Ctrl+A for the whole sheet).
2. Go to Home > Format > AutoFit Row Height, or double-click the border under any selected row number.
3. On Windows, the KeyTips Alt, H, O, A do the same from the keyboard.

2. Merged cells never autofit

AutoFit ignores merged cells. If C2 is merged with D2 to make a wide notes box, Excel won't grow row 2 for it, however long the text. This is old, documented Excel behaviour, not a setting you can change.

Three ways out. Unmerge and widen the column instead. Or, for headings, use Center Across Selection, which looks like a merge but keeps the cells separate: select the cells, press Ctrl+1, and on the Alignment tab set Horizontal to Center Across Selection. Or set that row's height by hand and accept that it won't adjust.

3. Line breaks from a formula show as one line

CHAR(10) puts a line break into formula text, on Windows and on current Mac Excel. The break is in the result, but the cell only shows it with Wrap Text on. Without it, the lines run together and look like one long string with no spaces.

The formula below builds a short ticket card on three lines. Turn on Wrap Text for the result cell (Home > Wrap Text), then autofit the row.

One more catch: Excel often doesn't refit row heights when only a formula's result changes. If the card grows from three lines to four after you edit the data, the fourth line is hidden until you autofit the row again.

4. Text pasted with line breaks looks squashed

Text copied from email, a web form or a CSV often carries its own line breaks. C4 came in as three lines. With Wrap Text off, Excel shows them run together; with it on, the cell shows three lines whatever the column width. Count the lines to know what you're dealing with.

If you'd rather have one line, replace the breaks with a space: =SUBSTITUTE(C4,CHAR(10)," "), or Find and Replace with Ctrl+J in the Find box. The guide to removing line breaks covers both.

5. Numbers and dates don't wrap

Wrap Text only works on text. A number or date that doesn't fit shows ##### (or switches to scientific notation for long numbers) instead of wrapping, however tall the row. Widen the column, use a shorter number format, or turn the value into text with the TEXT function if you really want it on two lines with a label.

Shrink to Fit and Wrap Text don't mix either: in Format Cells, Shrink to fit is greyed out while Wrap text is ticked. Pick one per cell.

6. Wrapped text is still cut off

A row can be at most 409 points tall, about 545 pixels. A very long note can need more than that, and the rest is cut off however you autofit. Make the column wider so fewer lines are needed, or move long notes to a comment, a separate sheet or a text box.

If text without Wrap Text stops at the column edge instead of spilling into the next cell, the next cell isn't empty: text only overflows into blank neighbours. A single space or a formula returning "" counts as not empty.

And if the column is very wide, wrapping has nothing to do: text only breaks at the column edge. Narrow the column, or put a break exactly where you want it with Alt+Enter (Option+Return on a Mac), which turns on Wrap Text for that cell by itself.