Weekly Computer Tip # 183
6 January 2007

start a new line of text within a cell (Microsoft Excel)

This being the first tip of the year I'd like to take the opportunity to wish you a very happy 2007. Be well and prosper!

This week I've been updating somebody else's Excel worksheet and wanted to start a new line of text inside a cell. As you may have found out yourself at some point, if you press the ENTER key it simply moves to the cell underneath the one you had select to start with. Not exactly what I was after, but then I remembered the keyboard shortcut for manually entering a line break, aka a "carriage return".

Here's how:

1. Double-click where you want to break the line in the cell.
2. While holding down the [ALT] key, press the [ENTER] key.

By the way, did you know that you can quickly move the insertion point to the end of the cell by clicking the cell and simply pressing F2? (See http://www.roem.co.uk/tip_53.html for full details.)

Finally, if you want to learn how to use Excel's underutilized features, making you more productive with less work, saving you and your organisation in the long run, join me in the Moller Centre in Cambridge on 28 February for a lively mix of demonstrations and business examples. Early bird discounts available until 15 January! See http://www.roem.co.uk/excel_with_excel.html

Until next week.

PS I’m committed to sharing the best of what I know with others so please don’t keep me a secret. If you enjoyed today’s tip, please forward it to anyone you feel may benefit. Alternatively, feel free to reprint it (with full copyright and subscription information) in your newsletters and message boards.

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