Formatting Spreadsheets

Welcome to Formatting Spreadsheets. In this section we will cover the following topics:

Format Text
Align and Merge Cells
Cell Borders and Background Colors
Format Numbers and Dates
Adjust Row Height and Column Width
Freeze Rows and Columns
Copy Formatting
Apply Conditional Formatting

Format Text

A quick way to change the appearance of your spreadsheet is to change the font of the text. A font is a set of letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols designed around a shared appearance. A font will have variations for size and styles, such as bold and italics.
Change Font

Select the cell(s) you want to format.
Click the Font list arrow.
Select a font.
How to change font in Google Sheets.

The font is changed.
Change Font Size

Select the cell(s) you want to format.
Click the Font Size list arrow.
Select a font size.
How to change font size in Google Sheets.

The font size is changed.
Apply Font Effects

You can also apply effects to your cells text, such as make it bold, italicized, or underlined, and change its color.

Select the cell(s) you want to format.
Use any of these formatting commands:
Click the Bold, Italic, or Strikethrough buttons to emphasize text.
Click the Text color button to change the font color.
How to apply font effects in Google Sheets.

The effect is applied.
Clear Text Formatting

If you went a little overboard, you can remove all formatting from a cell and start over.

Select the cell(s) where you want to clear formatting.
Click Format on the menu bar.
Select Clear formatting.
How to clear text formatting in Google Sheets.

The formatting is cleared from the cell.

Align and Merge Cells

Using the alignment options makes it easier to read the text and data in a spreadsheet.
Change Horizontal Alignment

Select a cell or cell range.
Click the Horizontal align button
Select an alignment option.
How to change horizontal alignment in Google Sheets.

Change Vertical Alignment

You can also change a cell’s vertical alignment.

Select a cell or cell range.
Click the Vertical align button.
Select an alignment option.
How to change vertical alignment in Google Sheets.

Cell Alignment Buttons	Description
Left/Center/Right Align	Align cell contents to the left side, center, or right side of the cell using these three buttons.
Text Rotation	Align cell contents diagonally or vertically.
Text Wrapping	Make all cell contents visible by displaying them on multiple lines within the cell (this increases the row’s height).
Merge Cells	Select from a few options for merging cells together.

Wrap Text

You can also control how text wraps if the cell isn’t wide enough to display it all.

Select a cell or cell range.
Click the Text wrapping button.

There are three ways that text can wrap in a cell:
The first is for the text to overflow into the next cell.
You can also choose to wrap text into a second line.
Or, to just clip the text off at the cell border.

Select a text wrapping option.
How to wrap text in Google Sheets.

The text in the cell wraps around to a new line.
Merge Cells

You can also merge several cells together to display text across multiple columns or rows.

Select a cell range.
Click the Merge cells button.
How to merge cells in Google Sheets.

The selected cells and merged into a single cell.
Unmerge Cells

If you need to separate the cells again, unmerging them works the same way.

Select the merged cell.

When the merged cell is selected, the Merge Cells button on the toolbar will be active.
Click the Merge cells button.
How to unmerge cells in Google Sheets.

The selected cells are split.

Cell Borders and Background Colors

You can spice up your spreadsheets a bit by adding borders and background colors to cells.
Add a Cell Border

Select a cell or range.
Click the Borders button.

A menu of border options appears. Here, you can select where the borders appear around the outside of the selection, or cell borders within the selection.
Select a border option.
How to add a cell border in Google Sheets.

A border appears around the selected cell(s).
Edit a Cell Border

You can also change the border style, including the color and thickness.

Select the cell or cell range with the border.
Click the Borders button.

The Borders menu is still displayed, and we can see the options to customize the border color and style.
Select a border option:
Borders
Border color
Border style
How to edit a cell border in Google Sheets.

The border is updated, based on the changes you made to it.
Change Cell Fill Color

You can also change the background color of a cell.

With a cell or cell range selected, click the Fill Color button.
Select a fill color.
How to change the fill color in Google Sheets.

The cells are now filled with a background color.

Format Numbers and Dates

To make a spreadsheet easier to read, you can apply a number format to cells that contain dates, numbers, and currency values.
Apply Currency Format

Select a cell or cell range.
Click the Format as Currency button.
How to Apply date format in Google Sheets.

The currency formatting is applied, adding a currency symbol as well as displaying two decimal places.
Apply Date Format

Select a cell or cell range.
Click the More Formats button.

A menu with more number formats appears, where we can choose from additional number, currency, and date formats.
Select Date.
How to Apply date format in Google Sheets.

Apply a Custom Date and Time Format

If none of the built-in currency or date formats are exactly what you’re looking for, you can customize them.

Select a cell or cell range.
Click Format on the menu bar.
Select Number.
Select More Formats.
Select More date and time formats.
How to Apply a custom date and time format in Google Sheets.

Here, you can customize all aspects of the date format. You can select another preset from the list; modify the month, day, and year fields; or add more fields to the format.
Select a preset, or customize the date and time fields.
Click Apply.
How to select a preset in Google Sheets.

The new date format is applied.
Create a Custom Number Format

You can create your own custom number format if you have a specific format you are going to use frequently.

Select a cell or cell range.
Click Format on the menu bar.
Select Number.
Select More Formats.
Select Custom Number Format.
How to create a custom number format in Google Sheets.

This dialog box displays a few examples, with special characters representing different ways for numbers to be formatted. To see a list of what each character means, click Help.
Create a number format using the available placeholder characters.
Click Apply.
How to create a custom number format in Google Sheets.

The cells are updated to the new custom number format, and the format is saved for future use.

Adjust Row Height and Column Width

Every cell in a spreadsheet starts at a standard width and height, but you can easily change a column’s width or a row’s height to display everything you need.
Adjust Row Height or Column Width Manually

You can manually adjust the row height or column width the same way.

Click and drag the border between two rows or columns.

When you position the cursor over a row or column header’s border, a black arrow appears. This needs to be showing before clicking and dragging.
How to Adjust Row Height or Column Widht Manually in Google Sheets.

The row height or column width are resized.
Adjust Row Height or Column Width Automatically

Double-click the border between two rows or columns.
How to Adjust Row Height or Column Widht Automatically in Google Sheets.

The row height or column width is automatically adjusted so that it’s tall/wide enough to fit the contents of its largest cell.
Specify a Row Height or Column Width

You can also specify a precise row height or column width.

Right-click a row or column header.
Select Resize row or Resize column.
How to Specify a Row Height or Column widht in Google Sheets.
Enter a row height or column width, in pixels.
Click OK.
How to Specify a Row Height or Column widht in Google Sheets.

The row height or column width is set to the number of pixels we specified.

Freeze Rows and Columns

When you’re working in large spreadsheets, it can be hard to know what you’re looking at once you scroll away from the row and column headings. But there’s no need to sweat! Freezing cells solves the problem by keeping the headings in place while scrolling through other data.
Freeze a Row or Column

Click View on the menu bar.
Select Freeze.
Select 1 row or 1 column.
How to freeze rows and columns in Google Sheets.

The selected row or column is frozen and will stay in place for context while other data scrolls.
Unfreeze Rows or Columns

Click View on the menu bar.
Select Freeze.
Select No rows or No columns.
How to freeze rows and columns in Google Sheets.

The columns are unfrozen and will now scroll normally.

Copy Formatting

If you have spent some time formatting cells to make them look great, you can easily copy just the formatting of a cell.
Paste Copied Formatting

Select a cell or cell range with formatting that you want to copy.
Click the Paint format button on the toolbar.
Select a cell or cell range you want to paste the formatting onto.
How to paste copied formatting in Google Sheets.

The formatting is applied to the selected cell or range.

Apply Conditional Formatting

You can apply certain formatting to cells that meet the criteria that you set. This is called conditional formatting.
Create a Conditional Formatting Rule

Select a cell range.
Click Format on the menu bar.
Select Conditional formatting.
How to create a Conditional formatting rule in Google Sheets.

The Conditional format rules pane appears, and a new rule has been started.
Select the conditions for the formatting to appear.
Customize the formatting that will appear when the conditions are met.
Click Done.
How to create a Conditional formatting rule in Google Sheets.

The rule is saved.

Condition	Description
Is empty	Applies formatting for empty cells.
Is not empty	Applies formatting for cells that aren’t empty.
Text contains	Applies formatting for cells that contain specified text.
Text does not contain	Applies formatting for cells that do not contain specified text.
Text starts with	Applies formatting for cells that start with specified text.
Text ends with	Applies formatting for cells that end with specified text.
Text is exactly	Applies formatting for cells that exactly match the specified text.
Date is	Applies formatting for cells with dates that match a specified date.
Date is before	Applies formatting for cells with dates that are before a specified date.
Date is after	Applies formatting for cells with dates that are after a specified date.
Greater than	Applies formatting for cells with values that are greater than a specified value.
Greater than or equal to	Applies formatting for cells with values that are greater or equal to a specified value.
Less than	Applies formatting for cells with values that are less than a specified value.
Less than or equal to	Applies formatting for cells with values that are less than or equal to a specified value.
Is equal to	Applies formatting for cells with values that are equal to a specified value.
Is not equal to	Applies formatting for cells with values that are not equal to a specified value.
Is between	Applies formatting for cells with values that are between two specified values.
Is not between	Applies formatting for cells with values that are not between two specified values.
Custom formula is	Applies formatting for cells with custom formulas.

Delete a Conditional Formatting Rule

Select a cell within the conditional formatting range.
With the Conditional Format Rules pane open, click the Remove rule button.
How to delete a Conditional formatting rule in Google Sheets.

The rule is deleted.