The Center Across Columns toolbar button is no longer visible in Microsoft Excel. It has been replaced by Merge and Center that offers the same functionality. As the name suggests, it lets users center information contained in a single cell or across a range of cells but sometimes the button may fail to appear under the ribbon menu. Here’s what you should do to center texts when the Merge and Center buttons don’t appear on the Excel toolbar.
Merge and Center button is missing
When the Merge and Center button is missing, greyed out, or not working in Excel, there are two possibilities. First, your worksheet is protected. Second, the Workbook is shared. So, if you turn off sharing when enabled, the button should again be available. If this doesn’t work, try the following workaround!
- Select cells to be centered.
- Right-click and choose the Format Cells option.
- Select the Alignment tab.
- Click the drop-down arrow adjacent to the Horizontal heading.
- Choose Center Across Selection.
- Hit the OK button.
The above workaround will let users center information contained in a single cell across a range of cells.
Open the Excel file you would like to edit.
Next, select the range of cells over which you would like to center text.
Right-click the selected cells, and then choose Format Cells from the list of options displayed.
Read: Customize the Quick Access Toolbar in Excel to make it work for you.
When the Format Cells window opens, switch to the Alignment tab.
Click the Alignment tab.
Under the Text alignment section, go to Horizontal heading.
Click the drop-down arrow and choose the Center Across Selection option.
When done, click the OK button.
You’ll notice that the texts contained in a single cell or a range of cells will be centered, instantly.
That’s all there is to it!
