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There may be times when you type a long text or number in a cell but all you can see is #####. This may look weird but it’s a really simple error to fix.
Let’s learn how to correct a ##### error!
Problem:
When you are operating in an Excel workbook, you might encounter a problem where the cells might be filled with # marks instead of the actual characters that must have been entered.
This is due to the fact that the column width, in which the cell containing the # marks is, might not be enough to show all the characters.
As the entire contents of the cell cannot be shown in that width, Excel shows it as a series of hash marks in that cell.
Solution:
To rectify this, all you have to do is increase the width of the column.
As you can see in cell C7, there is definitely some value entered but the cell width is very less. Hence, Excel cannot show the entire value and instead shows it as a series of # marks.
There are three simple ways to tackle this problem.
Follow this tutorial on #### Excel error and download this workbook to practice along:
Method 1:
Taking your cursor to the divider between two column heads, the cursor will change into a dragger. Dragging the column head divider will change the width of the column.
Now you can increase the width to fit all the characters of the cell, or to any width that you want.
Method 2:
Simply double-clicking on the rightmost edge of the column head, that contains the cell filled with # marks, will autofit the column so that it perfectly adjusts and shows all values in cells.
It will adjust to the length of the longest cell in the column.
Upon applying the above steps, your values will then be visible as shown.
Method 3:
Another way to overcome this problem is auto-shrinking text to fit in the column width. To accomplish this, follow the steps mentioned below:
STEP 1: Select the column that shows #### error.
STEP 2: Click on the Home Tab.
STEP 3: Click on expand icon at the bottom right corner of the Alignment group.
STEP 4: Check the Shrink to fit box in the Format Cells dialog box.
Upon applying the steps, the size of the text will be reduced to fit in the column width and it will look like this:
Conclusion
A series of # marks are Excel’s way of showing that there is some content that Excel does not have space to display.
You can display those text by either using the dragger cursor or double-clicking on the rightmost edge of the column or using the shrink to fit option.
Now that you know the simple ways on how to correct a ##### error, you can now continue with smooth functioning in Excel.
Make sure to download our FREE PDF on the 333 Excel keyboard Shortcuts here:
John Michaloudis is a former accountant and finance analyst at General Electric, a Microsoft MVP since 2020, an Amazon #1 bestselling author of 4 Microsoft Excel books and teacher of Microsoft Excel & Office over at his flagship Academy Online Course.
