How to Wrap Text in Google Sheets

May 30, 2021

If you find that your text is getting clipped within a cell or is extending the cell horizontally, you can set the text to wrap in Google Sheets. We'll show you how to set the text to wrap, as well as the other options you have for your text within a cell in Google Sheets.

What is text wrapping in a spreadsheet?

When you set the text to wrap in a spreadsheet like Google Sheets, text that is longer than a cell will automatically extend the cell vertically, as it does in a word processing program.

If you're working with numbers, you may want to check out our guide on how to get the sum of a column in Google Sheets.

Google Workspace

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You can select individual cells, all the cells of particular rows or columns, or all the cells in the entire spreadsheet.

How to select individual cells in Google Sheets

Simply click on the cell to select. Hold shift and click other cells to select more than one.

How to select a row or column in Google Sheets

Click on the corresponding letter (if selecting verticle column) or number (if selecting horizontal row).

How to select the entire spreadsheet in Google Sheets

Click on the gray box at the top-left of the spreadsheet—where the numbers and letters begin.

Once you've selected the cells you want text wrap, you click the text wrap button (see image above) and then wrap. You can also:

Go to Format.
Select Text wrapping.
Select Wrap.

What's the difference between "wrap" and "clip"?

When you "clip" text in Google Sheets, the text will appear to stop at the end of the cell. When you click on the cell, however, you can still see the entire text it contains.

If you're looking to optimize your workflow—check out this guide and learn how to view the latest list of keyboard shortcuts in Google Sheets.

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