How To ‘Enter’ In Excel: using line and paragraphs breaks

How To Enter In Excel

Last Updated on

There are users that use Excel program for storing data that will often require them to enter words and sentences into their cells.  Doing this is relatively straightforward, as long as you are only writing one sentence. However, if you want to insert a line, or paragraph break between the sentences in a cell things can get a bit trickier. Correctly using Enter in Excel will help.

If you try to paragraph break by simply pressing the enter key, then you will be automatically moved on to the next cell. In this article, we will teach you how to add line and paragraph breaks to individual cells in Microsoft Excel.

1

Adding Line Breaks With The Enter Key

It is possible to add line or paragraph breaks to a sentence within a single cell by pressing the enter key. However, you will need to press other keys at the same time in order to prevent the program moving you to the next cell.

Step

1

Click On Any Cell

The exact keys you have to press will vary depending on the operating system you are working on. To start, open up excel, click on any cell within a fresh spreadsheet and write two sentences.

Step

2

Add A Line Break

Using the bar below the main ribbon, you can see the contents of the cell you are currently working on. Click in between your two sentences and enter the following key commands for the operating system you are working on.

  • Press ‘Alt + Enter’ when working in Windows 10/11.
  • Press ‘Ctrl + Option + Return’ when working in Mac OS.

These key commands will add a line break at the point where you placed your cursor.

This is the simplest way of adding a line or paragraph break in Excel. But there is another way if you want to add multiple line breaks in the same cell.

2

Adding Line Breaks With The CONCATENATE

CONCATENATE is a text combining function used to merge text from two different cells into one cell. This is done using a basic formula where you include the names of the cells containing the text you want to merge.

For instance, if you have two sentences in A13 and A14, then you can merge them together by clicking on an empty cell and entering the formula ‘= A13 & “” & A14’.

Doing this will merge the two sentences into one sentence, but what if you want to add a line break between them?

Step

1

Add Char To Your Formula

To do this, you will need to add “Char(x)” to your formula, or “Char(y)” if you are working with Mac OS.

Conclusion 

Adding line breaks to cells that contain words and sentences in Excel isn’t hard, but it can be confusing if you don’t know how. Using Enter in Excel without this info can otherwise feel a bit odd.

But, hopefully, you now know about some useful key commands for separating sentences in your cells. The CONCATENATE function is also a useful tool for merging text located in multiple cells across your spreadsheet into one location. 

Using the tips and tricks described above will not only help you to get more done in Microsoft Excel, but it will also help you to work much more quickly and efficiently.