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Excel’s grid-like appearance can seem static at times without the possibility of creating customized interfaces to match the needs of the data stored in a worksheet. Although this is true to some extent, Microsoft has built in to Excel the ability to instantly customize column widths and row heights to match the size of the data in the cells.

Learn how to use Excel’s AutoFit feature to automatically change the size of columns and rows to the size of the data in a worksheet.

Before You Change Column Widths and Row Heights in Excel

There are limits to how big and small you can make columns and rows in Excel. Column widths and row heights with a value of zero are hidden in an Excel worksheet. This is the equivalent to using the hide column or row feature.

Columns can have a maximum width of 255. This number represents the maximum number of characters a column can hold at the standard font size. Changing the font, the font size, and adding other characteristics to the font such as italics and bolding greatly reduce the maximum number of characters a column can hold. The default size of an Excel column is 8.43, which correlates to 64 pixels.

Rows can have a maximum height of 409. This number represents how many one-seventy seconds of an inch the row can hold. The default size of an Excel row is 15, which correlates to 20 pixels or about one-fifth of an inch.

Using Excel’s AutoFit Feature

Suppose in your Excel worksheet you have text in the A1 cell that extends beyond the 8.43 (64 pixels) default column width. Notice that although the column’s width cannot contain the length of the text, Excel allows the text to spill over into adjacent columns.