Center Align in Excel (Shortcut)

By default, Excel aligns numbers and dates to the right and text values to the left in a cell.

In many situations, I prefer aligning the content of the cells to the center (especially with numeric datasets). It makes my data look cleaner.

Aligning cell contents in Excel can easily be done using simple shortcuts.

In this tutorial, I will give you the shortcut to center align in Excel.

Shortcut to Center Align in Excel

Below is the shortcut to Center Align in Excel:

ALT + H + A + C

How to Use the Keyboard Shortcut to Center Align in Excel

Below are the steps to use the above keyboard shortcut to align cell values to the center:

  1. Select the cells for which you want to center align the content
select the cells that you want to center align
  1. Use the keyboard shortcut ALT + H + A + C (press these keys one after the other as if you’re typing). Below is the screenshot where the values in column B have been center aligned
cells have been center aligned

Important Things to Know About Center Align in Excel:

  • The above shortcut to center align in Excel works as a toggle, which means that in case the text is not aligned to the center, using the above shortcut would align it to the center. And in case it is already aligned to the center, using the above shortcut would remove the center alignment.

Alternate Ways to Center Align in Excel:

I realize this is a longer shortcut, and many people may not want to remember this in case they do not need to align their content often.

Thankfully, you can access the alignment option with a single click in the ribbon.

Below are the steps to center align on Excel using the option in the ribbon:

  1. Select the cells for each you want to apply the center line format
  2. Click the Home tab
  3. In the Alignment group, click on the Center option.
click on the center align icon

Advance Excel Tip: If you want to get access to center align option with one click, you can add it to the Quick Access Toolbar

Other Excel shortcuts you may also like:

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I am a huge fan of Microsoft Excel and love sharing my knowledge through articles and tutorials. I work as a business analyst and use Microsoft Excel extensively in my daily tasks. My aim is to help you unleash the full potential of Excel and become a data-slaying wizard yourself.

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