Cell alignment and wrapping in Excel - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

A simple table listing fruits and their descriptions.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Description
A2	Apple
B2	A sweet red fruit that is often eaten fresh or used in cooking.
A3	Banana
B3	A long yellow fruit that is soft and sweet inside.

Formula Trace

No formula used; this example demonstrates cell alignment and text wrapping settings.

Step 1: Select cells B2 and B3

Step 2: Apply 'Wrap Text' formatting

Step 3: Set horizontal alignment to 'Center' for cells A1:B1

Step 4: Set vertical alignment to 'Top' for cells B2:B3

Cell Reference Map

Name

↓

Apple

↓

Banana

Cells B2 and B3 contain long text that is wrapped. Cells A1 and B1 are headers centered horizontally.

Result

   A        B
1  Name    Description
2  Apple   A sweet red fruit
          that is often eaten
          fresh or used in
          cooking.
3  Banana  A long yellow fruit
          that is soft and
          sweet inside.

The Description column text is wrapped inside cells B2 and B3. Headers in row 1 are centered horizontally. Text in B2 and B3 is aligned to the top.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the 'Wrap Text' setting do in a cell?

A Breaks long text into multiple lines inside the cell

B Centers the text horizontally

C Changes the font color

D Merges multiple cells

Key Result

No formula; demonstrates formatting settings for cell alignment and text wrapping.