How to Break Formula in Excel

By beaking a formula, I mean writing a formula in multiple rows, instead of one.

Usually, when we write some text, we use Enter to move to the new lines. In Excel, it doesn’t work that way. If you press Enter, the formula will be executed.

To break a formula into multiple smaller chunks, you have to perform these steps:

  1. Click a cell and start typing a formula.
  2. If you want to continue the formula in a new line, press Alt + Enter.
  3. Continue typing the formula.
  4. Press Enter to finish, or Alt + Enter to continue.

If you want to edit such a formula, you can double-click it, or press F2 and use keyboard arrows to move inside the same way as with one-line formulas, but this time in two directions.

Tomasz Decker is an Excel specialist, skilled in data analysis and financial modeling.