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Why are spreadsheet cells bottom-aligned by default?

Anonymous
2015-03-05T23:32:32+00:00

I first encountered this in Google Sheets docs where one cell in a row had multiple lines and other cells with less lines were aligned to the bottom, so it appeared that there was nothing in the cell if the larger cell extended beyond the visible page or you didn't look close enough. Then I read that this is the default and that Excel does the same thing.

WHY??!?

I see no reason for this logic, and it's obnoxious and can be problematic.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-04-19T15:42:47+00:00

    I always had exactly the same question: WHY??? What was the logic behind this? 

    I found this: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-cells-in-Microsoft-Excel-aligned-at-the-bottom-by-default

    Apparently this is an accounting requirement.

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  2. OssieMac 48,001 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-03-06T03:22:46+00:00

    I see no reason for this logic, and it's obnoxious and can be problematic.

    The above statement is a bit unfair. One of the options has to be the default  and who is to say what it should be because what suits some doesn't suit others.

    In Excel you have a choice with the Alignment block in the Home ribbon. Vertical alignment can be set to Top, Middle or Bottom and Horizontal alignment can be set to Left, Centre or Right.

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