How to " Enter " in Excel:
Start a New Line in a Prison cell (+Shortcut)

Written by co-founder Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Part Specialist.

Have you lot tried pressing 'Enter' to outset a new line and got disappointed?

Relax, your Excel isn't broken. 😊

Unlike text editors, you lot can't start a new line in Excel only by pressing 'Enter'. In Excel, pressing 'Enter' moves the cursor to the adjacent prison cell.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to enter in Excel for Mac and Windows easily using a shortcut. Too, we'll give you step-by-step instructions on how to enter in an Excel cell when you lot're using the 'CONCATENATE' office .

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

Get your Free exercise file

Before you offset:

Throughout this guide, you lot need a information set to practice.

I've included one for you (for gratuitous).

Download information technology right below!

Download the FREE Exercise File

Download exercise file

How to get a line pause in Excel

Starting a new line in a prison cell is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Permit's say you have this sentence:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

At present, you want to pause the tongue twister above into two separate lines:

(i) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

(2) A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

When in Excel, pressing 'Enter' (in the cell or in the formula bar) similar how yous would in Microsoft Word would only movement the cursor to the next cell:

pressing enter in excel would just move the cursor below

To start a new line, double-click the cell which contains the text. So, click the place where you want to insert a line pause.

Yous can besides practise this in the formula bar.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

In our example, the location would be betwixt the dot (.) of the first sentence and the first alphabetic character of the second sentence :

the location where a new line should be entered

Finally, enter a new line by pressing 'Alt' + 'Enter' on Windows or 'Ctrl' + 'Option' + 'Return' if you lot're using Mac.

pressing alt and enter to enter a new line

Adding multiple line breaks

At that place'south no limit to how many line breaks you can add together in a single prison cell.

Suppose y'all accept this sentence:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?

Now, you'd like to suspension it into three lines:

(1) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
(2) A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
 (3) If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?

Simple! Just practice what y'all did earlier — press 'Alt' + 'Enter' — on the appropriate locations.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

Here's how to put multiple lines in an Excel cell:

adding multiple line breaks using alt and enter

Line breaks with CONCATENATE

The 'CONCATENATE' function is i of Excel's text-combining functions .

This is usually done by using whatsoever of these ii methods:

  • =CONCAT(text1, text2, [text3],…)
  • =text1 & text2 & text3 &.. textN

Let'due south say you want to combine these phrases into ane:

  • The showtime line and
  • The 2nd line

This will give y'all: The starting time line and The second line

concatenating the first line and the second line

However, what you wanted is to combine both these phrases into a cell with a line break:

(one) The starting time line and

(2) The second line

To add a line suspension, you accept to enable 'Wrap Text' first for that cell.

the wrap text button

Then, add together a 'CHAR(10)' in the formula if yous're on Windows or 'CHAR(13)' if you're using Mac.

The formula will and then look like this:

= A12 & CHAR(10) & A13

Press 'Enter' and you lot'll see the added line break:

using char function to add a line break with concatenate

Wrapping things upward…

Adding a new line in Excel is dissimilar than in text editors. But it doesn't differ that much since you but needed to add together an extra key.

This knowledge is handy peculiarly when you want to add together a long phrase in Excel without using a lot of cells. 😊

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto