XL5: AutoFit Selection Makes Column Too Wide or Works Slowly

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel version 5.0, a column may appear too wide after you format it with the AutoFit Selection command (from the Format menu, choose Columns and then choose AutoFit Selection.) When you use this command to size your column, Microsoft Excel determines the width necessary to accommodate your column contents based on the sizes of the screen font and the printer fonts--the larger of these two widths is used. This process may result in one or both of the following:

• It may seem that the AutoFit Selection command takes longer to format your columns than the Best Fit option did in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. (This may be particularly noticeable if you are using AutoFit for the first time in the current Microsoft Excel session or if you have just changed the font or printer driver.)

  -and/or-

• If your screen font and printer font are not exact matches, an AutoFit column may appear wider on your screen or when printed depending on which font is larger. To resolve the disparity in your column widths, use a TrueType font or a printer font for which you have a matching screen font for your Normal style font.