How to Write Vertically in Excel

Sometimes you may want to write text vertically in Excel to save space and make your data more presentable. This could specially be useful if you are planning on printing your work.

While, by default whenever you write anything in Excel it’s written horizontally, it’s very easy to convert it into vertical writing.

Below is an example where I have the weak numbers written vertically in column A.

In this article I will show you three simple ways you can use to write text vertically in Excel.

Using Text Orientation Option in the Ribbon

Excel already has an inbuilt option to change the origination of your text to vertical in the ribbon.

Let me show you how to do this with an example.

Below I have a data set where I have tasks in column B and I want to write Week 1 as vertical text in cell A2:A5.

To do this, first I will have to merge the cells so that it becomes one, then type the text I want in that cell and then change it orientation so that it appears vertically.

Below are the steps to do write text vertically in Excel:

1. Select the cells in which you want to enter the text vertically. In this case I would select cell A2:A5
2. Merge these cells by going to the Home tab and then clicking on the Merge & Center option in the Alignment group.

3. Now enter the text you want in this cell. In this example I would enter Week 1
4. Now select this cell, go to the Home tab and then within the Alignment group. click on the Orientation drop down. Don’t click on the orientation icon but on the small downward pointing arrow next to it so that it shows more options.

4. Select the Rotate Text Up option

The above steps would change the orientation of the text so that it looks like it’s written vertically and would look like as shown below:

If you want the text to be in the opposite vertical direction, you can choose the Rotate Text Down option in step 5.

Also read: How to Rotate Text in Cells in Excel

Using the Format Cells Dialog Box

Another way to type text vertically in Excel is by using the format cells dialog box which also allows you to change the orientation of the cell.

Below I have a data set where I have tasks in column B and I want to write Week 1 as vertical text in cell A2:A5.

Below are the steps to do type text vertically in Excel:

1. Select the cells in which you want to enter the text vertically.
2. Merge these cells by going to the Home tab and then clicking on the Merge & Center option in the Alignment group. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ALT + H + M + C

3. Enter the text you in the cell. In this example I would enter Week 1
4. With the cell selection, hold the Control key and then press the 1 key. This will open the Format Cells dialog box. You can also go to the Home tab and then click on the dialog box launcher in the Alignment group (the small tilted arrow at the right of the word Alignment)

3. In the Format Cells dialog box, within the Alignment tab, change the Orientation value to 90 Degrees

4. Click OK

The above steps would Change the orientation of the text in the cell to vertical.

If you want the orientation in the cell to be in the opposite direction, enter -90 in step 5.

Note: If you want to return to the regular horizontal alignment you can go back to the format cells dialog box and change the orientation value to 0

Using a Text Box

In the two methods covered above entered within the cell and then its orientation is changed.

You can also use a text box which floats over the worksheet like an object where you can enter the text and then place it vertically.

Below are the steps to use a text box to write vertically in Excel:

1. Click the Insert tab

2. Locate and click on the Text option icon. This will show you some additional options in the drop down menu

3. Click on the Text Box option. This will insert a text box in the worksheet and bring your cursor within the text box.

4. Manually type the text that you want to place vertically in your worksheet. In this example I will write Week 1

5. Select the text box and then click on the Home tab in the ribbon
6. In the alignment group, click on the orientation dropdown icon and then select Rotate Text Up

7. Adjust the height and the width of the text box and place it where you want it

One benefit of using this method is that this is independent of the text in the cells in your worksheet. And if you are printing your work, then this will also get printed.

Also when you’re using a text box, you get a lot more options too format the box as well as the text such as adding a fill color or adding shadow or outline to the text.

Pro Tip: You can also link your text box to any cell so that the value of the text box changes dynamically based on the value in the cell. To do this select the text box and then enter the reference of the cell in the formula bar.

In this article, I’ve showed you three simple ways you can use to write text vertically in Excel. You can write the text within a cell or you can use a text box to type the text vertically and then place it anywhere on the worksheet.

I hope you found this article helpful.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments section.

Other Excel articles you may also like:

• Make Rows/Columns Fit the Text Automatically
• Flip Data in Excel | Reverse Order of Data in Column/Row
• How to Create a Data Entry Form in Excel
• How to Underline in Excel?