Students will be able to wrap text within spreadsheet cells so that all entered data is fully visible without truncation.
Why Wrap Text?
Ensures that long entries are readable.
Prevents the need to manually widen columns, which can disrupt the layout of a worksheet.
Improves the professional appearance of reports and data tables.
How to Wrap Text – Step‑by‑Step Procedure
Select the cell or range of cells that contain the text you want to wrap.
Locate the Wrap Text command:
In most spreadsheet programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc) it is found on the Home tab in the Alignment group.
In Google Sheets it appears as an icon in the toolbar or under Format → Text wrapping → Wrap.
Click the Wrap Text button. The cell height will automatically adjust to display all lines of text.
If the row height does not change automatically, manually increase the row height by dragging the row border.
To remove wrapping, repeat the steps and choose Overflow or Clip instead of Wrap.
Demonstration – Before and After Wrapping
Scenario
Cell Content
Display
Before Wrapping
“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
The text is truncated or continues into adjacent empty cells, making it hard to read.
After Wrapping
“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
The text appears on multiple lines within the same cell, all words are visible.
Suggested diagram: The “Wrap Text” button on the toolbar of a typical spreadsheet application.
Tips and Common Issues
Multiple lines in a single cell: Use Alt+Enter (Windows) or Option+Return (Mac) to insert manual line breaks before applying wrap.
Row height not adjusting: Double‑click the row boundary or use the “AutoFit Row Height” command.
Wrapping in merged cells: Some programs do not wrap text in merged cells; unmerge, wrap, then re‑merge if necessary.
Printing considerations: Preview the worksheet to ensure wrapped text does not cause unwanted page breaks.
Summary
Wrapping text is a simple yet essential formatting technique that ensures all data entered in a cell is fully visible. By selecting the appropriate cells and using the Wrap Text command, students can create clear, readable spreadsheets without altering column widths.