Excel has over a hundred different fonts that can be used; and they can be sized, colored, bolded, underlined and turned into Italics. Often used in headings, this simple Excel tutorial will teach you how to format the font of texts in your spreadsheet. You can learn Excel and create fun, engaging spreadsheets using a variety of different font features.
The first thing to do is highlight the text you want to format, whether it is one cell or an entire group. Once you have done this, you should go to your Font box in the Home tab of your Excel toolbar. You will see several options there and this Excel course will tell you what they are and how to use them:
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Font Face
This is the first option in the Font box and has the name of the currently used font written in it. Usually Excel uses Calibri as the default setting; but if you click on the arrow next to it, you will have access to multitudes of others in the drop-down menu. Click on the one you wish to use and Excel will automatically change all the text in your highlighted cells.
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Font Size
There are three quick methods that can be used to change the size of your text. Eleven is the default size that Excel uses, but you can change this by clicking on the arrow next to the icon that has a number in it. This will give you access to a drop-down menu with different sizes that you can choose. Click on the one you want Excel to use.
Another way to control font size is to use the icon next to be numbered one. It has two A buttons. The bigger one has an upward pointing arrow and will increase the font size, while the smaller one will decrease it as is shown by the downward pointing arrow. Simply click either option once and Excel will make it one degree bigger or smaller. Continue clicking until the font is the size you require.
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Bold
Clicking on B will make all the text within the highlighted cells bold.
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Italics
If you click on I, Excel will change the selected text into italics.
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Underline
If you need to underline your text, then Excel will do that for you when you click on U.
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Font Color
To change the color of the text, click on the arrow next to Font Color to access the drop-down menu. You will be able to choose the color you want from Theme Colors and Standard Colors. Simply click on your choice and the text will instantly change color.
If you wish to use a color not found there, then click on More Colors at the bottom of this drop-down menu. A small window will appear with a Standard tab and a Custom tab. Each of these offers a different way of finding a certain color. At the bottom of each tab you will be able to see the color you are currently using, as well as the one you wish to replace it with. All you need to do is choose the color you want and click on OK.
You are also able to instruct these changes from your Format Cell dialog box, as well as add a few effects and view your changes beforehand in the Preview pane. Press both Ctrl and 1 simultaneously, or click on the downwards facing arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of your Font box (in your Home tab). Make sure you click on Font if it does not open automatically in that tab. This will open a new window that looks like this:
Now we will show you the font formatting features that you can only access from this Cell Format dialog box:
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Effects
There are three options under the Effects section. Above is an example of exactly what each will do, and you can view it in the Preview pane before clicking OK to implement it into your text.
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Normal Font
If there is any font formatting in the highlighted cells, this box will not be checked. You can click on it (a tick will appear) to delete all text formatting and use Excel’s original default settings instead.
You should now be able to implement all the font features that Excel offers into your spreadsheet. Our Excel training course students in South Florida love playing around with these options, as they create interesting spreadsheets. Our Excel tutorials will deepen your knowledge of all that Excel offers, enabling you to create the best worksheets possible.
