Welcome to this article where I’ll reveal how to add indentation in Google Sheets. You’ll discover how to make your lists, tables, and datasets clearer and easier to follow.
What is Text Indentation?
Indentation involves inserting spaces before text to clarify which group or category each item belongs to in a dataset. For example, take a look at the two tables below. Don’t you find the table on the right much easier to understand in terms of essential information (like revenue, COGS, SG&A, and profit) and their breakdown?
How to Add Indentation in Cells
I. Add Spaces Manually
The simplest method is to manually add spaces to the text. You can use this approach when you need to indent a relatively small number of texts.
- Open a cell containing the text you want to indent and place the cursor to the left of the first letter.
- Press the “Space” key until the desired number of spaces is inserted.
- Repeat this process for other cells where you want to indent the text.
II. Use Multiple Columns and Adjust Their Width
You can also use multiple columns and adjust their width to create indentation. This method is handy when you need to add a relatively large number of texts and can group them by category or level.
- Enter the texts by categories in the columns.
- Adjust the width of the columns.
- Add the texts in the corresponding columns for their category.
III. Use Custom Formatting
With this method, you can create custom number formats and apply them to cells to add indentation. This is especially useful when you already have a series of texts that you want to indent, as you can apply the formats to cells without moving the values.
- Select the range of cells you want to add indentation to.
- Go to the “Format” tab -> “Number” -> “Custom Number Format”.
- Click on the text box at the top of the popup window.
- Press the “Space” key until the desired number of spaces is added (e.g., twice).
- Type the symbol “@” at the end of the space.
- Click the “Apply” button.
- If you have another range of texts that require a different degree of indentation, create another custom number format with a different number of spaces and apply it to the corresponding range.
Does Google Sheets Support Indentation?
Unfortunately, Google Sheets does not provide an indentation function. Therefore, you need to use one of the methods we’ve described in this article depending on the volume and format of the data you’re dealing with.
Don’t forget to check out Crawlan.com for more tips and tricks on Google Sheets and many other exciting topics!
Now you know all about adding indentation in Google Sheets. Have fun making your data even clearer and easier to understand!
