How to Write (Type) Vertically in Excel

- Written by Puneet

In Excel, if you want to write vertically there are multiple options that you can use and apply. Each of these options works differently but gives you the same result. You can use any of the options that work best for you.

write-vertically

In this tutorial, we will look at how one can make text vertical in Excel and write it vertically.

Write (Type) Vertically in Excel

select-vertical-text-option
  1. First, select the cell where you want to write vertically.
  2. After that, in the home tab, go to the alignment group.
  3. From there, click on the orientation drop-down option.
  4. Next, select the “Vertical Option” from there.
  5. In the end, write and enter the value in the selected cell.

Once you apply the vertical orientation, it makes the value you write in the cell vertical. Apart from that, there are a few more options that you can use:

  • Rotate Text Up
  • Rotate Text Down
rotate-text-up-and-down

Type Vertically Inside the Cell in Excel

You can also type vertically while entering a value in a cell. You need to use the keyboard shortcut to add a line break while entering the value.

Let’s say you need to enter “Excel” in cell A1. Edit the cell, enter the first alphabet, and press the shortcut Alt + Enter. This will shift the cursor to the next line, and you need to do this for each alphabet.

type-vertically-inside-the-cell

Make Text Vertical with Wrap Text

In Excel, an option called wrap text that you can use to make your text vertical in a cell.

  1. First, you need to enter the value in the cell.
  2. After that, go to the home tab and click on the wrap text button.
  3. Now, enter the values in the cell.
    select-wrap-text-button
  4. From here, you need to adjust the width of the column so that there could be only one alphabet in a line.
    adjust-cell-width
  5. In the end, click between rows 1 and 2 to autofit row 1.
    click-between-rows

The moment you autofit the row, you will get the entire value in a vertical direction.

value-in-vertical-direction

Add a Text Box and Type Vertically in Excel

You can also insert a text box in the cell and then change the text direction to vertical to type vertically in it.

  1. First, insert a text box in the worksheet Insert ⇢ Text ⇢ Text Box.
    add-a-text-box
  2. After that, select the text box, right-click on it, and open the “Format Shape” or you can press the Control + 1.
    open-the-shape-format
  3. From the format shape option, go to the “Text Options” and then “TextBox”.
    text-options-textbox
  4. Now from the text direction option, select the “Stacked” option.
    select-the-stacked-option

Once you make this change you can write vertically inside the text box.

write-vertically-inside-the-box

Just like this, you can do the same changes with the word art and then write vertically in it.

Of all the options that you have seen in this tutorial, the most useful is by changing the text orientation. But as I said, you can use any of these according to your need.