In Google Sheets, by default the row height adjusts automatically to fit the height of the text, but you can set the row height to whatever you want it to be.
In this article I am going to show you how to change the row height to be taller or shorter, and I will also show you how to change the height of specific rows or every row all at once.
To change the row height in Google Sheets, you first need to select the rows you want to modify. Click on the row number on the left-hand side of the sheet to select a single row. To select multiple rows, click and drag your mouse cursor over the row numbers, or hold down the "Shift" key and click on multiple row numbers.
Once you've selected the rows you want to change, you have two main methods to change the row height:
Method 1: Click and drag the mouse to change row height
The easiest way to adjust row height in Google Sheets, is by simply using the click and drag method with your mouse.
To adjust row height in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
- Select the rows that you want to adjust the height of
- Place your cursor on the bottom edge of any selected row until it changes to a double-headed arrow
- Click and drag the row to the desired height (dragging downwards increases row height, and dragging upwards decreases row height)
- Release the mouse button when the row height is where you want it
Changing the height of multiple specific rows
If you want you can change the height of a single row… or if you want you can easily change the height of multiple rows at once by selecting the rows to be adjusted and then changing the height of one of the selected rows.
Change the height of multiple adjacent rows
To select multiple adjacent rows, click on a row, hold the click, drag your cursor up or down to select multiple rows, then release your click when all of the rows that you want to change the height of are selected. Or, you can select a row, hold "Shift' on the keyboard, then press the up or down arrow key on the keyboard to select multiple rows.
Then click and drag the border of one of the selected rows, and all of the selected rows will adjust to the same height.
Change the height of multiple non-adjacent rows
To select multiple non-adjacent rows (rows that are not right next to each other), hold the "Ctrl" key on the keyboard and then click on any row(s) to select all of the rows that you want to change the height of.
Then click and drag the border of one of the selected rows, and all of the selected rows will adjust to the same height.
Changing the height of all rows
To select all rows at once, press "Ctrl" +"A" on the keyboard
Or, you can select row 1, then hold "Ctrl" + "Shift" on the keyboard and press the down arrow key
Then click and drag the border of one of the selected rows, and all of the rows will adjust to the same height.
Make rows the same height
To make multiple rows the same height, select all the rows you want to change and follow the steps outlined above. They will all be set to the same height.
Method 2: Set row height in pixels with the "Resize rows" menu
If you want, you can manually set the row height in pixels to get the exact row height that you want. This is helpful when you want to match the exact height of another row.
To manually set row height in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
- Select the rows that you want to change the height of
- Right-click on the selected row / one of the selected rows
- Click "Resize rows"
- Click "Specify row height"
- Type a value in the pixels (The current row height will be displayed in the box)
- Click "OK"
The default height is 21 pixels, but you can increase or decrease this value based on your needs.
If you need to check the row height or a certain row to see how many pixels tall it is, you can use the same steps above to view the row height.
You can also select "Fit to data" to make the row height fit the text automatically, which I will show you how to do later.
Method 3: Use "Fit to data" to automatically change row height to fit text
After you have adjusted the row height of a row, it will remain at that specific height unless you specify otherwise. If you want, you can use autofit / "Fit to data" to make the rows automatically adjust to fit the text inside the cell. The easiest way to autofit row height is by using the double-click method, but I'll show you another method as well.
To autofit row height in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
- Select the rows that you want to automatically change the height of
- Place your cursor on the bottom edge of any selected row until it changes to a double-headed arrow
- Double-click your mouse
Alternatively you can select the rows to be changed, right-click on one of the selected rows, click "Resize rows", select "Fit to data", and then click "OK"
You can use this same method for columns instead of rows… click here to learn how to autofit column width in Google Sheets.
Method 4: Changing row height and wrapping text automatically
If you want, instead of having the row height adjust to a single line of text, you can use text wrapping to make the text go on a new line when it reaches the end of the column, which will cause the row height to automatically adjust for each new line.
If you have text that exceeds the row height, enable text wrapping by following these steps:
- Select the cells to be wrapped
- Click "Format" on the top toolbar menu
- Click "Wrapping"
- Click "Wrap"
Now you know all the ways to change row height in Google Sheets!
Click here to learn how to change column width in Google Sheets.
