How to Start a New Line in Excel Cell

When you are using MS Excel for storing and manipulating text data sometimes starting a new line within a cell in Excel can be incredibly useful when you want to enter multiple pieces of information or data in a single cell without cluttering your spreadsheet.

Now, if you are looking for a guide to create a new line within a cell, then fortunately, Excel makes this easy to do. In this guide, you will learn how to start a new line in an Excel cell using a simple keyboard shortcut or a formula, allowing you to customise your spreadsheet with ease.

Method 1: Using Keyboard Shortcut in Excel

To start a new line of text or add spacing between lines or paragraphs of text in a worksheet cell, press Alt+Enter to insert a line break. To quickly insert a line break in Excel on both Windows and Mac, you can use the following shortcuts:

• Windows Shortcut to Insert New line in Same Cell - Alt+Enter
• Mac Shortcut to Add a new line - Control + Command + Return

Step 1: Select the Cell

Select the cell in which you have to enter a new line

Step 2: Press "Alt + Enter"

On Windows, press and hold the Alt key while pressing Enter. In Excel for Mac, press and hold Control and Option, then press Return.

Method 2: How to Create a New line in Excel cell Using Formula

In Microsoft Excel, there is a special function to insert different characters in cells - the CHAR function. On Windows, the character code for the line break is 10, so we'll be using CHAR(10). Follow the below steps to Start a new line of text inside a cell in Excel.

Step 1: Select the cell

Click on the cell where you want the line break.

Step 2: Write a function in f_x box

Type " =CHAR(10) " in the formula bar.

CHAR(10)

Step 3: Press Enter

Press Enter, and Your text magically splits onto a new line.

Method 3: Multiple Line Breaks in Excel

To enter multiple lines in a single cell in excel and increase the spacing between lines, first enable the Wrap Text feature. Then, press Alt + Enter twice or more to insert multiple line breaks within the cell, as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 1: Select the cell

Select the cell in which you want to add line spacing.

Step 2: Place the Cursor and "Press Alt+Enter"

Place the cursor after the word where you want to add line spacing. Now press "Alt+Enter". Each time you press Alt+Enter you get a new line break.

To create extra space between lines of text, press Alt + Enter multiple times. This will insert additional line breaks, allowing you to control the spacing between different sections of text within the same cell.

Method 4: Line Break After a Specific Character in Excel

In an Excel spreadsheet, we can give a line break after a specific character. At every occurrence of that specific character, excel replaces that character and gives a line break automatically. The steps for inserting a line break after a specific character are as follows:-

Step 1: Select the cell

Select the cell where you want to add the line break.

Step 2: Open the Find and Replace dialog

Now press Ctrl+H a dialog box will appear with the name Find and Replace.

Step 3: Specify the command and press Replace All button

Now start specifying the character which you want to replace with the new line and in the "Replace with" column press [Ctrl + J].

Step 4: Press the Replace All button

Multiple lines are inserted in the selected cells. Based on your input in the "Replace with" field, the following results will occur:

All commas will be replaced by carriage returns.

Conclusion

Excel's handling of text can be tricky, but mastering line breaks is a game-changer. Use Alt+Enter (Windows) or Control+Command+Return (Mac) for quick line breaks. Explore methods like find-and-replace for specific character breaks and formulas like CHAR(10). These techniques turn messy spreadsheets into organized, readable data. Choose the method that suits your needs, and elevate your Excel skills effortlessly.