Cell alignment and wrapping in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This data shows fruit names in column A and their descriptions in column B. The descriptions are long text that may not fit in one line.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Description
A2	Apple
B2	A sweet red fruit that is often eaten raw or used in cooking.
A3	Banana
B3	A long yellow fruit that is soft and sweet inside.
A4	Cherry
B4	A small, round fruit that is typically red or black and has a pit.

Formula Trace

No formula used; this is about cell formatting for alignment and wrapping.

Step 1: Select cells B2:B4

Step 2: Apply 'Wrap Text' formatting

Step 3: Set horizontal alignment to 'Left'

Step 4: Set vertical alignment to 'Top'

Cell Reference Map

   A       B
1  Name    Description
2  Apple   A sweet red fruit that is often eaten raw or used in cooking.
3  Banana  A long yellow fruit that is soft and sweet inside.
4  Cherry  A small, round fruit that is typically red or black and has a pit.

Cells B2 to B4 contain long text that needs wrapping and alignment formatting.

Result

   A       B
1  Name    Description
2  Apple   A sweet red fruit that is
          often eaten raw or used in
          cooking.
3  Banana  A long yellow fruit that is
          soft and sweet inside.
4  Cherry  A small, round fruit that is
          typically red or black and
          has a pit.

The Description cells show wrapped text aligned left horizontally and top vertically, so the text breaks into multiple lines inside each cell.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does 'Wrap Text' do in a cell?

A Cuts off text that is too long

B Breaks long text into multiple lines inside the cell

C Centers text horizontally

D Changes text color

Key Result

No formula used; this topic covers cell formatting for text alignment and wrapping.