Many users are unaware that it is possible to add bullet points in Excel.
While Excel does not provide a built-in functionality to do this, there are four workarounds that enable bulleted lists in an Excel spreadsheet.
Add Bullet Points in Excel
There are four different methods to add bullet points in Excel:
- Using a keyboard shortcut
- Using the Symbol Menu
- Copy and paste bullet points
- Use a Custom Number Format
Down below each method will be discussed in detail.
Using a Keyboard Shortcut to Insert Bullet Points in Excel
If your keyboard has a separate numeric keypad, then the quickest way to insert bullet points in Excel is by using a keyboard shortcut.
1. Select the cell where you want to insert a bullet point and double click on it
2. Press the Alt key and then press the 7 key on your numeric keypad to insert a round bullet point.
If you are using Excel on a Mac, press the Option + 8 keys instead.
A bullet point will appear in the cell as seen below.
If you want to enter multiple bullet points into the same cell, press ALT + Enter to go to a new line and then press ALT + 7 to insert another bullet point in the same cell.
Using the Symbol Menu to Add Bullet Points in Excel
Another quick and easy way to add bullet points in Excel is by using the symbol menu.
1. Select the cell that you want to add a bullet point to and then click the Insert tab
2. Select Symbol from the top menu and you will see a pop-up menu.
3. From the menu select the bullet point and then click on Insert.
The bullet point will be added to the cell.
Tip: To quickly find the bullet point, type in 2022 in the Character Code box
Using the Symbol Menu to Add Bullet Points in Excel on Mac
On Mac computers after clicking on Symbol you will see a different menu appear with emojis and other symbols.
On this menu click on More categories from the bottom right corner and then scroll down to the Bullets/Stars section.
Select the bullet point you want to insert to add it to the cell.
Copy and Paste Bullet Points
Another quick way to insert bullet points in Excel is by copying the bullet point from somewhere else, like Microsoft Word.
You can write your entire bulleted list in Word, copy it and then paste it into an Excel cell. The list along with the bullet points will appear in the Excel cell.
If you wish to only copy a single bullet point into Excel, then you can copy any of the bullet points below and paste them into your Excel spreadsheet.
● o ▪
Use Custom Number Format to Automatically Add Bullets to List
This method is ideal if you want Excel to automatically add bullet points to a range of cells.
1. Select the range of cells that you would like to automatically have bullet points
2. Right click and then select Format Cells
3. From the pop-up click on the Number tab and then select Custom as your Category
4. Now in the Type textbox (highlighted in red above), copy and paste the following: ● @
Now Excel will automatically add bullet points to your selected cell range.
Note: If Excel is adding bullet points outside your cell range, follow the procedure above again, but at step 4 select ● @ from the list instead of typing it.