Justify Text - A hidden resource to save time when working with Text in Excel
Hello Heroes!
When we create worksheets in Excel that other users are going to use, it is an excellent practice that we create a sheet with instructions to bring more clarity on how to take advantage of our worksheet.
Depending on the complexity of our file, when we create these instructions if we want them to fit in a specific number of columns, most people cut the text and continue typing it in subsequent rows. This can be quite laborious and any alteration to the original text implies unnecessary rework.
Today I'm here to show you a hidden Excel resource that makes this whole process much faster: the “Justify” option.
If we have an instruction text, for example:
“Please put phone numbers without parentheses or hyphens. Those marks will be placed automatically after pressing enter. Keep this list updated. As soon as there is any change, please update the list accordingly.”
And we want the text to show only between columns A to D, normally we would manually enter the text (F2 or double click) and then cut the text, go to the next row and then paste the rest. We would do this successively until we manage to adjust the text to the desired size. However, if we need to modify the text, we will find that it will be an arduous rework.
This is where the Justify command comes in.
Justify is located on the Home tab, in the Editing section, under the Fill commands.
To use Justify, we select the size we want for our text in relation to the columns. In this example, we select from A to D.
Then we click justify and voila, the text wraps automatically:
If we need to adjust the text size to another range of columns, for example from A to C, just select the space between A and C, and click Justify again. This will make the text wrap without the need to cut and paste.
But WAIT! Did you notice that the previous text was cut off? we missed the last part of the text!
This happens because Justify has a limit of 255 characters. Starting at character 256, the information will be removed if you use Justify.
Another point to note is that if you select fewer rows than the text will need to fit the columns, you will get a warning that the text will extend beyond the selected rows. This is not a problem and the text will always be Justified.
Did you find useful information? How much time do you think you will save with this new information? Comment below and share it with who you think will benefit from this information.
