How to Adjust Cell Margins in Excel & Google Sheets

This tutorial demonstrates how to adjust cell margins in Excel and Google Sheets.

 

margins indented

 

Change Cell Margins

Left Indent

To adjust the left cell margin in Excel, create a left indent that moves the contents of the cell to the right.

In the cell where the adjustment is required, in the Ribbon, select Home > Alignment and then click on the left alignment button.

 

margins select indent

 

The cell is then indented by the default value.

Specify Size of Indent

  1. In the Ribbon, select Home > Alignment and then select the small icon in the bottom right hand corner of the alignment group.

 

margins alignment

 

  1. In the Format Cells dialog box, (1) select Left (Indent) in the Horizontal drop down box, and then (2) select the value to indent by in the Indent box.

 

margins left indent

 

  1. Click OK to left indent the cell (and thus change the cell margin) by the required amount.

 

margins cell indented

 

Center Text

If you wish to adjust the cell margins all around the cell – left and right, top and bottom – you can center the text and change the size of the cell.

To center with just two clicks, in the Ribbon, select Home > Alignment and then select (1) Middle Align and then (2) Center.

 

margins ribbon center

 

To center through the alignment menu and resize the cell, follow these steps:

  1. In the Ribbon, select Home > Alignment and then select the small icon in the bottom right hand corner of the alignment group.
  2. In the Format Cells dialog box, select Center in both the Horizontal and Vertical drop down boxes.

 

margins format cells center

 

  1. Click OK.
  2. Then adjust the column width and row height as required.

 

margins centered

 

Adjust Cell Margins in Google Sheets

You cannot indent text in a cell in Google Sheets the same way as in Excel, but you can center the text in a cell both horizontally and vertically and then adjust the size or the row and column.

  1. From the Menu, select Format > Alignment and then select Center to center the text horizontally.
  2. Select Middle to center the text vertically.

 

margins gs format

 

  1. Then adjust the row and column sizes as required.

 

margins gs adjust size
Note: See How to Indent in Excel & Google Sheets for a workaround to left-indent a cell in Google Sheets.