How to Make Bullets in Excel Entries

Excel can insert bullet symbols in worksheets with keyboard shortcuts.

Microsoft Excel 2010 can insert bullet symbols to make selected entries stand out on the worksheet. Bullet symbols add visual interest to lines of data. Bullet symbols can display small circles, squares arrows or other shapes in the cell’s left side. If a single cell contains a list, you can insert a bullet symbol to draw attention to one item within the cell’s list.

Instructions

Insert a Bullet to a Cell

1. Open the Excel worksheet.

2. Double-click the cell where you wish to insert the bullet symbol.

3. Press “Alt” and “7” using the numeric keypad on the keyboard. A black bullet appears in the cell. To create a bullet with a white interior and a black outline, press “Alt” and “9” on the numeric keypad. If you prefer a different bullet style, click the “Insert” tab on the command ribbon. Click “Symbol” in the “Symbols” group. Select a font. Select the bullet symbol. Click “OK” and “Close.”

4. Add more bulleted lines in the same cell by pressing “Alt” and “Enter.” The cell will contain a line break. Repeat the “Alt” and “7” or “Alt” and “9” keyboard shortcut to insert the bullet symbol on the new line.

Insert a Bullet to a List

1. Open the Excel worksheet that contains the list.

2. Add a bullet to a list in one cell by double-clicking the cell.

3. Place the insertion point on the line where you wish to insert the bullet.

4. Click the “Insert” tab on the command ribbon.

5. Click the blue “Symbol” button in the “Symbols” group. A chart with symbols displays.

6. Click the “Font” text box arrow. Select your preferred font. For example, “Arial Narrow.”

7. Scroll to view the symbols. For example, certain fonts display squares, diamonds, flags and arrows. Click your preferred bullet symbol.

8. Click “Insert.” Click “Close.” The selected symbol appears on the selected line in the cell.

Tips & Warnings

• If the bullet is the only item in the cell, you can duplicate this bullet in adjacent cells. Click the cell. Move the pointer over the tiny black square symbol in the lower-right corner of the cell. The pointer converts to a plus or +” symbol. Click and drag to the next cell. Release the mouse. The selected adjacent cells will display the bullet symbols.

• You can create a bulleted list in a Word 2010 document and copy this bulleted list to an Excel worksheet. Click Word’s “Home” tab. Click the “Bullet” button in the “Paragraph” group. Select the preferred bullet style. Type the bulleted list. Copy the bulleted list from Word. To insert the whole list in one Excel cell, double-click the cell. Press “Ctrl” and “V” to paste. To insert the each bulleted item in its own Excel row, click the Excel cell where you wish to insert the first bulleted item. Press “Ctrl” and “V” to paste the entries.

References

• Microsoft Office: Excel 2010, Insert Bullets in a Worksheet