How to Add Bullet Points in Excel

Adding bullet points in Excel can be tricky: Excel doesn't offer a font-formatting tool for bullets. However, there are many times you may need to add a bullet for each cell, or multiple bullets into each cell. This article looks at the multiple ways you can add bullet points in Excel.

Add Bullet Points in Excel With Shortcut Keys

One of the easiest ways to add bullet points in Excel is using keyboard shortcut keys.

1. To add one bullet point per cell, double-click the first cell where you want a bullet point and press Alt+7 to insert the bullet. Then, type the item you'd like to follow the bullet.

   

   Different keyboard shortcuts will insert different style bullets. For example, Alt+9 creates a hollow bullet; Alt+4 is a diamond; Alt+26 is a right arrow; Alt+254 is a square. The bullet point will only appear after you release the keys.

2. To quickly add bullets before entering a list, select and drag the bottom right corner of the cell down the number of cells you'd like to fill with bullet points before typing text after the bullet.

   

3. Once you have all of the individual cells filled with bullet points, you can fill them out with the actual item text and the rest of the data for the sheet.

   

4. If you prefer to include multiple bullets in a single cell, press Alt+Enter after each Alt+7 bullet entry. This will insert a line break into the cell. Continue this process until you've entered the number of bullets you need in the cell.

   

5. Press Enter (without pressing the Alt key) to finish editing the cell. The row height will automatically adjust to accommodate the number of bullet points you've entered into the cell.

Add Bullet Points in Excel Using Symbols

If you prefer using your mouse rather than the keyboard to add bullet points in Excel, then Symbols is a great way to go. Using symbols to add bullet points in Excel is ideal if you don't want to have to remember which shortcuts let you insert specific bullet styles.

1. Select the cell where you want to insert a bullet point, then select Insert > Symbol.

   

2. Scroll down and select the bullet point symbol. Click Insert.

   

   You don't necessarily have to use the standard bullet symbol. As you scroll through the list of symbols you may notice many others that make good bullets as well.

3. To insert multiple lines of bullets using symbols, select Insert the number of times you'd like to have bullets, then select Cancel to close the symbol dialogue box. Finally, place the cursor between each bullet in the cell and press Alt+Enter to add a line break between bullets.

   

Insert a Bullet in Excel Using a Formula

One way to insert bullets in Excel without having to use the menu or remember any keyboard shortcuts is to use Excel's CHAR function.

The CHAR function will display any character you want, if you provide it with the correct numeric character code. The ASCII character code for a solid bullet point is 149.

1. Double-click the cell where you want to insert a bullet list, then type "=CHAR(149)."

   

2. Press Enter and the formula will turn into a bullet point.

   

3. To insert multiple lines of bullet points in Excel using formulas, include another CHAR function using the line break code, which is 10. Double-click the cell to edit and type "=CHAR(149)&CHAR(10)&CHAR(149)."

   

4. When you press Enter, you'll see the bullet points on each line. You may need to adjust the height of the row to see them all.

   

Add Bullets to Excel With Shapes

Inserting shapes as bullet points is a creative way to use images of different shapes or colors as bullet points.

1. Select Insert > Shapes. You'll see a drop-down list of all of the available shapes you have to choose from.

   

2. Select the shape you'd like to use as your bullet, and it will appear on the spreadsheet. Select the shape, then resize it appropriately to fit inside each row.

   

3. Drag the icon into the first row. Then, select, copy, and paste copies of it into the rows below it.

   

4. Combine each cell that contains a bullet icon with the second cell that contains the text.

Using Bullets in Text Boxes

Excel provides bullet-formatting functionality buried within specific tools such as Text Box. Text box bullet lists work as they do in a Word document.

1. To use bullet lists inside a text box, select Insert > Text Box, then draw the text box anywhere into the spreadsheet.

   

2. Right-click anywhere in the text box, select the arrow next to the Bullets item, then select the bullet style you want to use.

   

3. Once the bullet list is created in the text box, you can type in each item and press Enter to move to the next bullet item.

   

Adding SmartArt Bullet Lists in Excel

Hidden deep inside Excel's SmartArt Graphic list are several graphical bullet lists that you can insert into any spreadsheet.

1. Select Insert > SmartArt to open the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box.

   

2. Select List from the left menu. Here, you'll find an array of formatted list graphics you can use to add bullets in your spreadsheet.

   

3. Select any one of these and select OK to finish. This will insert the graphic into your spreadsheet in design mode. Enter the text for your list into each header and line item.

   

4. When you're finished, select anywhere in the sheet to finish. You can also select and move the graphic to place it wherever you like.

Adding Numbered Lists in Excel

Adding a numbered list in Excel is very easy using the fill feature.

1. When creating your list, first type 1 in the first row where you want to start the numbered list. Then, type 2 in the row just below it.

   

2. Highlight both numbered cells, then place your mouse pointer over the small box in the lower right of the second cell. The mouse icon will change to a small crosshair. Select and drag the mouse down the number of rows of items you'd like to have in your list.

   

3. When you release the mouse button, all cells will automatically fill with the numbered list.

   

4. Now you can complete your list by filling in the cells to the right of your numbered list.

   

How to Make Numbered Symbol Lists in Excel

You can also use symbols to create numbered lists in Excel. This method creates much more stylistic numbered lists, but it can be a bit more tedious than the autofill option.

1. Using the example above, delete all of the numbers in the left column.

2. Select inside the first cell, then select Insert > Symbols > Symbol.

   

3. Select one of the numbered symbols for the number one, and select Insert to insert that symbol into the first cell.

   

4. Select Close, select the next cell, then repeat the process above, selecting each subsequent number symbol—two for the second cell, three for the third cell, and so on.