Let’s take a look. Let’s look first at the Fill option. Selecting a horizontal alignment of Fill will fill a cell with content, repeating the content as necessary. This is not very useful for ordinary content, but it can be used for other effects. For example, we could enter a hash symbol in a cell, choose the horizontal alignment Fill, and then copy the cell across several columns to create a border element. Or, we could use a period instead. Next is Justify. Justify only affects text in cells that are wrapped. If fact, you’ll see the Wrap Text button highlight automatically when you apply Justify. Justify will force all lines except the last line to fill the entire column width. In general, the Justify alignment option will look better when used on wider columns. Note that as we saw in the Text Wrap lesson, you may need to double-click the row border to get the row to resize properly. Finally, the Distributed option, like Justify, forces lines to fill the column width and automatically enables text wrapping. Unlike Justify, Distributed forces all lines to fit the column width, even the last line in wrapped text. Even cells that contain a small amount of text on one line are expanded to fit the column width. When a cell contains one word or number only, the Distributed option centers the content. Be aware that with both Justify and Distributed, the text wrapping is automatic. In the Format Cells dialog box, the Wrap Text option will be left unchecked, but the Wrap Text button on the ribbon will appear enabled.
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
