Bullet Points Shortcuts

Microsoft Excel is primarily about numbers. But it is also used to work with text data such as to-do lists, bulletin boards, workflows, and the like.

Select a blank cell, and then on the Insert tab, click Symbol. At the bottom of the dialog box, type 2022 in the Character code box. Then click Insert, and Close. If you need another bullet on a new line underneath, type ALT+ENTER and repeat the process.

Tips

• If you have a numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard, press ALT+7 for a bullet.
• Different fonts provide different symbols. If your font does not provide the bullet, try selecting a font such as Wingdings in the Symbol dialog box. Then enter character code 159.
• You can copy and paste a bulleted list from another program, like Word. By default, it will put each bullet in its own cell. But you can also double-click a cell, and paste the whole list into the cell.
• If you're using text in a shape or text box, then you can apply bullets and numbering by right-clicking the text, then select the Bullets option.

This page illustrates three ways to insert bullet points in Excel. You can use a keyboard shortcut, insert a symbol or create a custom number format.

If you have a number pad on the right side of your keyboard, execute step 1 or step 2.

1. To insert a filled round bullet point, press Alt + Numpad 7.

2. To insert a hollow round bullet point, press Alt + Numpad 9.

If you don't have a number pad on the right side of your keyboard, execute step 3 and step 4.

3. On the Insert tab, in the Symbols group, click Symbol.

4. Select a font from the drop-down list, type 2022 in the Character code box and click Insert.

Result.

5. To insert multiple bullet points in a single cell, press Alt + Enter to start a new line in an Excel cell.

Create a custom number format and inserting a bulleted list in Excel will be a piece of cake.

6. Select the range A1:A3.

7. Right click, and then click Format Cells.

8. Select Custom.

9. In the Type box, press Alt + Numpad 7 to insert a bullet point (or copy/paste a bullet point), enter a space and type @

10. Click OK.

11. You can now create a bulleted list by simply typing the list items. Excel automatically adds the bullet points!

Note: use the Format Painter to quickly copy the bullet point format to other cells.