When you enter any data in an Excel worksheet, it doesn’t always appear the way you want. Sometimes the text looks too close to the cell border, sometimes it’s not centered properly, or the text direction feels off.
The Alignment Group in Excel is found in the Home Tab of the Excel ribbon.
The Alignment Group in Excel helps you make your data look neat, clear, and professional — by controlling how text and numbers appear inside each cell. It includes options that allow you to arrange text horizontally, vertically, change its direction, wrap text, merge cells, and adjust spacing within cells.
Horizontal Alignment (Left, Center, Right)
These options decide how text or numbers are aligned horizontally within a cell.
- Left Align (Ctrl + L): Moves content to the left edge of the cell.
Best for text entries like names or product titles. - Center Align (Ctrl + E): Centers text in the middle of the cell.
Commonly used for headings or titles. - Right Align (Ctrl + R): Aligns content to the right side.
Mostly used for numbers, prices, or totals.
Vertical Alignment (Top, Middle, Bottom)
Vertical alignment controls how text is placed up and down inside a cell.
- Top Align: Keeps text at the top of the cell.
- Middle Align: Places text in the center vertically.
- Bottom Align: Keeps text at the bottom (default setting).
Example: When you increase the row height, vertical alignment decides whether your text stays at the top, middle, or bottom of the cell.
Text Orientation (Rotate Text)
This option allows you to rotate text in any direction — diagonally, vertically, or horizontally.
Wrap Text
If your text is too long and doesn’t fit in one cell, you can use Wrap Text to display it on multiple lines within the same cell.
Merge & Center
Merge & Center combines multiple cells into one and centers the text.
Indent (Increase / Decrease Indent)
Indentation adds space between the cell border and the text.
It’s great for creating structured lists or subpoints in Excel.
- Increase Indent: Moves text further from the border.
- Decrease Indent: Moves text closer to the border.