Narrow And Widen Columns In Microsoft Excel: Is There a Keyboard Shortcut?

Annabelle Baradine 0 Reputation points
2026-10-04T12:38:21.5166667+00:00

I'm wondering, when I view a .csv file in Microsoft Excel 2003 (I know, older software), I sometimes get a message in JAWS, "Text is obscured, widen column to see full text.", or something along those lines. Which brings up my question. Are there keyboard shortcuts for narrowing and widening columns in Microsoft Excel? If so, what keys or key combinations do I press?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Windows
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  1. DaveM121 (2) 16,640 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-10-04T13:12:51.6966667+00:00

    There is no native shortcut in Excel to resize the columns, you you could try this keyboard sequence.

    Press Ctrl + A

    Then, press these keys sequentially (one at a time): Alt, h, o and i

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