manipulate rows and columns of a spreadsheet and apply a variety of formats

Set a column to a specific width

1. Select the column or columns that you want to change.

2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

   

3. Under Cell Size, click Column Width.
4. In the Column width box, type the value that you want.

Change the column width to automatically fit the contents (auto fit)

1. Select the column or columns that you want to change.
2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

   

3. Under Cell Size, click AutoFit Column Width.

Tip To quickly autofit all columns on the worksheet, click the Select All button and then double-click any boundary between two column headings.

Match the column width to another column

1. Select a cell in the column that has the width that you want to use.
2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy, and then select the target column.

   

3. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the arrow below Paste, and then click Paste Special.
4. Under Paste, select Column widths.

Change the default width for all columns on a worksheet or workbook

The value for the default column width indicates the average number of characters of the standard font that fit in a cell. You can specify a different number for the default column width for a worksheet or workbook.

1. Do one of the following:
   • To change the default column width for a worksheet, click its sheet tab.
   • To change the default column width for the entire workbook, right-click a sheet tab, and then click Select All Sheets on the shortcut menu (shortcut menu: A menu that shows a list of commands relevant to a particular item. To display a shortcut menu, right-click an item or press SHIFT+F10.).

   

2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

   

3. Under Cell Size, click Default Width.
4. In the Default column width box, type a new measurement.

Tip If you want to define the default column width for all new workbooks and worksheets, you can create a workbook template or a worksheet template, and then base new workbooks or worksheets on those templates.

Change the width of columns by using the mouse

Do one of the following:

• To change the width of one column, drag the boundary on the right side of the column heading until the column is the width that you want.

  

• To change the width of multiple columns, select the columns that you want to change, and then drag a boundary to the right of a selected column heading.
• To change the width of columns to fit the contents, select the column or columns that you want to change, and then double-click the boundary to the right of a selected column heading.
• To change the width of all columns on the worksheet, click the Select All button, and then drag the boundary of any column heading.

  

Set a row to a specific height

1. Select the row or rows that you want to change.
2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

   

3. Under Cell Size, click Row Height.
4. In the Row height box, type the value that you want.

Change the row height to fit the contents

1. Select the row or rows that you want to change.
2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format.

   

3. Under Cell Size, click AutoFit Row Height.

Tip To quickly autofit all rows on the worksheet, click the Select All button and then double-click the boundary below one of the row headings.

Change the height of rows by using the mouse

Do one of the following:

• To change the row height of one row, drag the boundary below the row heading until the row is the height that you want.

  

• To change the row height of multiple rows, select the rows that you want to change, and then drag the boundary below one of the selected row headings.
• To change the row height for all rows on the worksheet, click the Select All button, and then drag the boundary below any row heading.

  

• To change the row height to fit the contents, double-click the boundary below the row heading.

Rearrange (transpose) data from columns to rows or vice versa

If data is entered in columns or rows, but you want to rearrange that data into rows or columns instead, you can quickly transpose the data from one to the other.

For example, the regional sales data that is organized in columns appears in rows after transposing the data, as shown in the following graphics.

1. On the worksheet, do the following:
   • To rearrange data from columns to rows, select the cells in the columns that contain the data.
   • To rearrange data from rows to columns, select the cells in the rows that contain the data.
2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy .

   

   Keyboard shortcut To copy the selected data, you can also press CTRL+C.

   Note You can only use the Copy command to rearrange the data. To complete this procedure successfully, do not use the Cut command.

3. On the worksheet, select the first cell of the destination rows or columns into which you want to rearrange the copied data.

   Note Copy areas (copy area: The cells that you copy when you want to paste data into another location. After you copy cells, a moving border appears around them to indicate that they've been copied.) and paste areas (paste area: The target destination for data that's been cut or copied by using the Office Clipboard.) cannot overlap. Make sure that you select a cell in a paste area that falls outside of the area from which you copied the data.

4. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the arrow below Paste, and then click Transpose.
5. After the data is transposed successfully, you can delete the data in the copy area.

Tip If the cells that you transpose contain formulas, the formulas are transposed and cell references to data in transposed cells are automatically adjusted. To make sure that formulas continue to refer correctly to data in nontransposed cells, use absolute references in the formulas before you transpose them.

This video may help with understanding how to format rows and columns: video

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel/HP012163831033.aspx?pid=CH100648141033

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel/HP102245021033.aspx?pid=CH100648341033