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alt-enter (cell line breaks) is not working in Excel 2016

Anonymous
2017-02-10T23:41:00+00:00

I have found that I can no longer insert line breaks in my cells.  Is anyone else having this issue?  Has this ability been removed?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-04-16T12:02:53+00:00

    This problem (Alt+Enter not working) has driven me crazy for nearly a year now.  On multiple computers too! It just would not work.  It used to work.

    Well i solved it tonight in a mad frustration. 

    All i did to make it finally work was to ****

    press  {Windows Key}+{Alt}+{Enter}

    and it worked!!!!!

    No idea why we need to press the Windows key - but IT DOES WORK

    Hope this helps everyone!!!

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-02-15T23:08:03+00:00

    Alright.  I'm not sure what is going on, but I have gotten the command to work intermittently.  I have found if I alternate between the left and right <Alt> keys I can get it to work in either program.  At least I know I can get it to do what I want, but it is still a mystery as to why I have to try so hard.  The <Alt> key works every time I press it and the <Enter> key works every time a press it.  But when pressed together, well, refer to what I typed above. 

    Thank you for your help.  If you find a reason this happens, please let me know.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-02-14T09:25:55+00:00

    Hi Brian,

    I’d like you to confirm and provide the following.

    1. Provide us with a full screenshot showing the version information of Excel 2016 via File>Account.
    2. To clarify if it is an issue related to the keyboard, I suggest you connect another one to your computer to see the outcome.
    3. Create a new Excel file and type some values in cells to check the outcome to see if the issue goes away.
    4. Start Excel 2016 in safe mode to see the result.

    Thanks,

    Cliff

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-02-13T15:46:42+00:00

    Thank you for responding.  I'm afraid all keys are in good working order (Alt and Enter/Return).  The program just doesn't respond to the command.

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  3. Kevin Jones 7,265 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2017-02-11T01:08:01+00:00

    This is pretty basic functionality. I just checked my version of 2016 and it still works.

    Maybe your ALT key has stopped functioning? You can tell by pressing it multiple times and, if you do not see keyboard equivalents over all of the menus and commands, then your keyboard might be in need of replacement.

    Another common shortcut with the ALT key is CTRL+ALT+DELETE - does that still work?

    Kevin

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