Learn how to turn text counterclockwise, clockwise, horizontally, upwards, downwards or by a certain degree of angle using Excel.
There are instances that you need to rotate the text within the cell to improve its appearance or to make it fit better into the column, particularly for headers of columns and rows. When you’ve got a column header that is larger than the size of the cell the text will be inserted into the next cell , or some of the text will be hidden if the following cell contains information.
Normally , you will resize the column to fit its biggest content in order to accommodate the text. But, it’s going to take too many screen spaces and make your data appear awkward. appearance, especially when the column’s heading is too large and the remainder of the content of the column are smaller (numbers). It will also cost you lots of paper when you print the data.
Thus, rotating the text according to a specific angle, either vertically or diagonally will make your column more compact and pleasing to the eye. Excel lets you rotate text counterclockwise, clockwise, horizontally, up or down in a precise amount of angle. There are a variety of methods to turn text or alter directions of font within Excel and we’ll cover the various options in this article.
Table of Contents
Rotate Text using pre-defined Optional Orientation
All values are stored horizontally within the Excel cell, however turning text vertically or diagonally is the most efficient method to fit any long text within a compact area.
Excel’s Orientation feature provides five different alignment options that allow you to alter the direction of the content in a cell to match your column.
Let’s suppose that you have the following dataset in which the column headers are larger than column values, and you wish to turn the headers within the first row.
Follow the steps below to rotate text within cells:
Then, choose the cells that have the text you wish to rotate. You can choose one of the cells, a array of cells, row, or column.
In the tab ‘Home under the section for alignment, click the ‘Orientation’ tab (icon with the letter ‘ab’ on an inclined). Select an alignment option in the menu.
- Angle Counterclockwise
- Angle Clockwise
- Vertical Text
- Rotate Text Up
- Rotate Text Down
Angle Counterclockwise
If you choose the “Angle Counterclockwise option, it can rotate text (counterclockwise) within the cells you select to 45°.
Angle Clockwise
This option rotates your text around a 45 degrees in clockwise direction , as illustrated below.
Vertical Text
This displays the text vertically, starting from at the very top down to the bottom of the cell (places one letter on top of the other horizontally) rather than the standard left-to-right.
Rotate Text Up
This aligns the text to rotate and show it on the lower-right corner of the cell, and moving all up to the top , at 90 degrees.
Rotate Text Down
This is in contrast to the previous choice. The text will be placed beginning from the highest point of the cell, and will continue through the entire lower part of the cell, at 90 degree angle.
Select the option for rotation that best suits your needs.
If you’re not satisfied with any of the five alignment options for presets You can try the following method to select the exact amount you would like the text to turn.
Rotate Text using Format Cells Dialog Box
While the method above can help to quickly rotate text inside the cell only gives only a few orientation options. If you’d like to rotate your text at a precise angle that will help you to determine the spacing and angle of your text it can be done using in the formatting Cell Dialog window. This is what you must do:
First, choose the cell or range of cells that have text that requires rotation. On the tab ‘Home select the ‘Orientation’ option in the Alignment section. Select the Format Cell Alignment option.
Alternately, you can click the Arrow icon (Alignment Settings) in the lower right-hand edge in the Alignment group, or press Ctrl+1.
In the Alignment tab in the Format Cells windows, you’ll be able to see an Orientation box as well as an editor box beneath.
You can now alter the direction of rotation by simply clicking on the wheel and moving it, or clicking any of the points along the semicircle within the box for orientation. You can also enter the precise degrees (in this box) in which you would like the text to rotate. In this case, we set the angle to 30 degrees. Then, click ‘OK’.
Here’s how the text rotated at 30 degrees appears like.
If you choose to use the Orientation preset options or the Format Cell dialog to turn your text, text will always be aligned to the bottom that is inside the cell. Sometimes, however you can rotate your text for headers by aligning it with the middle of the cell can make it appear more appealing.
To do this, click on the text that has been rotated and then select the middle Align or Center or both within the Alignment group on the ribbon. This will align the text with its center.
Change Text by using the keyboard shortcuts
If your text is frequently rotation or you prefer using a keyboards, you can make use of keyboard shortcuts to cut down on the time as well as effort. Excel includes shortcut keys that allow you to access the various orientation options and an Format Dialog box for cells. The keyboard shortcuts are simple to remember and to use and are nearly identical, with one key difference between them. Let’s look at it:
First, choose the cell or range of cells to which we would like for the text to rotate. the text. Next, we can use the below shortcuts to rotate text within the cells you have selected.
In contrast to other keyboard shortcuts, you don’t need to press all keys simultaneously. Instead you press each key one after the other in a series.
- Alt+H+F+Q – This shortcut opens the drop-down menu ‘Orientation’ on the ribbon. It is necessary to use this shortcut to open the other choices (shortcuts). If you press this, it will also display the shortcut keys for other shortcuts.
- Alt+H+F+Q+O – To turn the text counterclockwise to 45°.
- Alt+H+F+Q+L – To turn the text in a clockwise direction, by -45 degrees.
- Alt+H+F+Q+V – To place the text vertically, from top to the bottom.
- Alt+H+F+Q+U – To turn the text upwards at 90 ° (bottom from top)
- Alt+H+F+Q+D – To turn the text downwards at 90 ° (top from bottom)
- Alt+H+F+Q+M, or Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box.
Rotate Text Back to the Default or Original State (Horizontal)
If you aren’t happy with the rotation of text You can take out the text that has been rotated and replace it to vertical text (Default state) from left to right.
Use Undo Command to Remove Text Rotation
If you wish to reverse the text rotation immediately after it has been applied, just use the CTRL+Z keys, or press the button ‘Undo’ on the Quick Access Toolbar.
Disable Orientation Options
If you have used one of the Orientation preset options on the ribbon to rotate the text it is easy to remove the rotation of text by switching the identical option.
In the example below we’ve applied the rotation ‘rotate up’ style to the headers. To get rid of this, you have to remove the “Rotate Text up’ from the option.
Choose the cells that have text that has been rotated, click the Home tab, and select Orientation in the alignment section. After that, you can click on the rotate option and remove it. In the following example you will need to click on’Rotate Text Up’ again to return to the text that is horizontal.
Set Orientation Angle to ‘0’ Degrees
Another method to restore the text that has been rotated to its original orientation is to set the angle of rotation to zero degrees within the Format Cells dialog box.
For this to be done, click on the text that has been rotated. Go to the tab ‘Home and select the ‘Orientation’ option within the alignment section, and then select the ‘Format Cell Alignment’ option , or press Ctrl+1.
On the Alignment tab, set the Orientation degree to ‘0’, then click “OK”.
The text will be returned to its original state. text to its original state horizontal from across the left and right.
That’s it.