Absolute Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Initially, row height is set at 12.75 points to accommodate 10-point text and leave a little space between the rows. If you increase the font size, Excel automatically bumps up the row height. If the row height Excel chooses is not the row height you want, you can change the row height yourself by taking one of the following steps:

Let Excel Adjust the Row Height: Move the mouse pointer over the bottom border of the row heading, so the pointer takes on the appearance of a two-headed arrow. (See Figure 5.2.) Hold the mouse steady while double-clicking the left mouse button. Excel automatically adjusts the row height to accommodate the tallest entry in the row. (Or, select the row or rows and then open the Format menu, point to Row , and click AutoFit .)

Drag and Drop Row Height: Move the mouse pointer over the bottom border of the row heading, so the pointer takes on the appearance of a two-headed arrow. Hold down the left mouse button and drag down (to make the row taller) or up (to shorten the row).

Specify a Precise Row Height: Select a cell in the row whose height you want to change, or drag over the row headings to select multiple rows. Open the Format menu, point to Row , and click Height . Type a number from 0 to 409 to specify the desired number of points tall you want the row to be, and then click OK . (A row height of 0 hides the row.)

Match Another Row's Height: To make one row the same height as another, click the number to the left of the row that is the desired height. Click the Format Painter button, and then click the number to the left of the row whose height you want to change.

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