Which option is used to adjust the width of a column automatically?

What is the Autofit Column Width?

For everything, there is a default setting or value in Excel. So does the width of the column and the height of the rows. However, we can give our width and height for columns and rows apart from these default settings. That is because there are so many ways to fit the width of the columns in Excel. If you are a beginner in Excel and do not know about column auto width, this article will guide you in detail.

Default Column Width in Excel

When we open a new Excel workbook, it comes with default settings for column width and many other settings. So, to view the default width of the column, we must place a cursor on the end of the column and see a four-way arrow keys symbol.

When we move the arrow, we can see the default column width.

We have the default column width as 8.43 characters, equal to 64 pixels.

We can change this column width by dragging the column edge to the right by holding the left click of the mouse.

We can see in the above image when we are dragging the right corner of the column to the right side, column width changes. Like this, we can set the column width to our reference by dragging.

We can also select column width under the Excel “Home” tab. For example, our current active column is “A.”

Under the “Home” tab, we must go to “Format” and click on the drop-down list in ExcelA drop-down list in excel is a pre-defined list of inputs that allows users to select an option.read more to see many formatting options. From that, choose the “Column Width” option.

Subsequently, this will open below the “Column Width” window showing the current column width.

Since the current column has the default width, it only shows the width as 8.43 characters. We can also open a column width setting by using the shortcut key ALT + H + O + W.

This shortcut key is used to open up the above “Column Width” window, and as per the character number, it will adjust the column width accordingly.

We had given the width as 20. If we click on “OK,” it will adjust the column width to 20.

The current column width is adjusted to 20 from the default 8.43.

Column Width is Not Auto Adjusted to the Largest Value in the Column

When we type some data into the cell, that value is not necessarily within the default width of the column. When the cell value is more than the default character width, that cell’s respective column would not automatically change its width.

1. For example, look at the below image.

   
   

   
   In cell A1 we have typed “Google Inc,” which is surely over the default column width.

2. Since there is no value in cell B1, we can still see the full value of cell A1. But when we insert some other value into cell B1, we no longer see the full value of cell A1.

   
   

   
   We cannot see the full value of cell A1 and the same case with B1 as well this cell value too over the column width.

3. Now, we need to adjust the column width to the cell value, so to auto-adjust the column width to the Excel cell value, place the cursor first on the right corner of column A.

   
   

4. On seeing the four-way arrow key, double-click on the mouse to auto-adjust the Excel column width, equal to the highest lengthy value in the column.

   
   

   
   When we double-click on the column in the right corner, it has adjusted the column width, equal to the value in cell A1 which is 9.57 characters.

5. Similarly, we can do the same thing for column B.

   
   

   
   The column B auto width is adjusted to 12.43.

AutoFit Column Width Using Excel Shortcut Key

We can also autofit column width using excel shortcut keyAn Excel shortcut is a technique of performing a manual task in a quicker way.read more ALT + O + C + A.

For example, look at the below data.

As shown above, we have three values in three cells. First, place a cursor on the A2 cell.

Now press the shortcut key ALT + O + C + A.

As seen above, upon pressing the Excel shortcut key, it has auto-adjusted the column width to fit the A2 cell value only. Unfortunately, the A3 cell value is still not adjusted to the column width, so we need to select the whole column and press the shortcut key to impact the entire column.

Now, press the shortcut key ALT + O + C + A.

So, the entire column will be adjusted, equal to the highest value in the column.

Things to Remember

• The alternative to ALT + O + C + A key is ALT + H + O + I.
• We should do a double click at the end of the right corner of the column.
• To AutoFit the column width to the entire column, we need to select the whole column and perform the AutoFit activity. Otherwise, only the selected cells will be AutoFitted.

Recommended Articles

This article has been a guide to Excel Column Auto Width. Here, we discuss how to autofit column width (manually, dragging, and with a shortcut key) in Excel. You may learn more about Excel from the following articles: –

• Column Width in Excel
• Excel Autofit Row Height 
• Features of MS Excel
• Hide Shortcut in Excel