Resizing rows and columns

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. You type a big number into a cell, and the cell shows only hash signs. Is your data lost? No, the column is simply too narrow. Today we will learn how to resize rows and columns in a spreadsheet, in four different ways.

First, let us recall a few words. A column is a vertical line of cells, and it is named with a letter. A row is a horizontal line of cells, and it is named with a number. A cell is the box where one row and one column meet, so B3 is column B, row 3. Resizing means changing the width of a column or the height of a row.

Here are four common reasons to resize. When a number is too long for its column, Excel shows hash signs, so make the column wider. When long text meets a filled cell on the right, the text is cut off, so again widen the column. When you choose a large font, the tops of the letters can be clipped, so make the row taller. When text wraps onto many lines, the row must be tall enough to show them all.

The quickest method is to drag the border with the mouse. Move the pointer to the line between two column letters at the top of the sheet. The pointer changes into an arrow with two heads. Hold the left button and drag to the right to widen the column, or to the left to narrow it. For a row, drag the line just below the row number, down to make it taller.

The second method is AutoFit, which means the spreadsheet chooses the best size for you. Double-click the right border of a column letter. The column becomes exactly as wide as its longest entry. Double-click the border below a row number, and that row fits its tallest entry. You can also use the Home tab, then Format, then AutoFit Column Width or AutoFit Row Height.

The third method sets an exact size, which is useful when every column must match. First, click the column letter to select the column. Then go to the Home tab and click Format. Choose Column Width, type twenty, and click OK. Now the column is exactly twenty characters wide.

Width and height are measured in different units. Column width counts roughly how many digits of the normal font fit, and a new column in Excel is eight point four three wide. Row height is measured in points, and a new row is fifteen points tall. A column can be at most two hundred fifty five characters wide. A row can be at most four hundred nine points tall.

The fourth method resizes many columns together. Drag across the column letters, for example from A to D, to select them. Now drag the border of any one of them. Every selected column takes the same new width. To resize every column and row in the sheet, first click the small box in the top left corner, which selects the whole sheet.

Let us plan a class marks register. Roll numbers are short, so column A can stay narrow at about eight. Names like Priyanka Deshmukh are long, so column B needs about twenty five. The five subject columns, C to G, should all be ten, so we select them together and set one width. The heading row is made taller, about thirty points, so it stands out.

Now pause and predict. Cell C2 holds a fourteen digit number. Column C is still at the default width. What will C2 show on screen? Think before I answer. For a number with the General format, Excel may first show it in scientific form, like one point two three E plus thirteen. For a formatted number or a date, you see hash signs. Either way, the stored value is never changed. Widen the column, and the full number comes back.

Some centres use LibreOffice Calc instead of Excel, so here is the same job in Calc. For an exact width, Calc uses the Format menu, then Columns, then Width. For an exact height, it is Format, then Rows, then Height. Excel's AutoFit is called Optimal Width or Optimal Height in Calc. Dragging a border and double-clicking it work the same way in both.

Avoid these common mistakes in the practical exam. Hash signs do not mean the data is wrong; the column is only too narrow. When columns should look the same, select them together instead of dragging each one by eye. If you drag a border all the way to zero, the column becomes hidden, so do not drag too far. And remember that row height uses points, while column width uses characters.

Let us revise. Drag a border to resize a row or column by hand. Double-click the border to AutoFit it to the contents. Use Home, Format, then Column Width or Row Height to type an exact size. Select many columns together to give them the same width. And hash signs only mean the column is too narrow, so your data is safe. Practise by building a marks register and resizing it neatly.