To “return” in an Excel cell, people usually mean one of two things:

  1. Add a line break (carriage return) inside the same cell
  2. Make the cell return (show) a value using a formula

I’ll cover both, with quick steps and then some extra tricks.

1. Add a line break inside a cell

If your question is “how do I go to a new line in the same Excel cell?”, this is what you want.

Windows shortcut

  • Double‑click the cell (or press F2) to edit.
  • Type your first line.
  • Press Alt + Enter to insert a line break.
  • Type the next line, repeat Alt + Enter for more lines.
  • Press Enter to finish.

Mac shortcut

  • Double‑click the cell (or press Control + U) to edit.
  • Type your first line.
  • Press Option + Command + Enter to insert a line break.
  • Type the next line as needed.
  • Press Enter to finish.

Make sure you can see the return

If the text doesn’t wrap to the next line even after Alt + Enter, turn on Wrap Text:

  • Select the cell(s).
  • Go to Home → Wrap Text.
  • If needed, increase row height so all lines are visible.

You can also do the same effect with a formula, by inserting the line‑break character:

  • In a formula, use:
    ="Line 1" & CHAR(10) & "Line 2"

  • Then enable Wrap Text on that cell.

2. Return a value in a cell with a formula

Sometimes “how to return in Excel cell” means “how to make a cell show a result based on other cells.”

Basic example (IF)

Return different text depending on a condition:

  • Select the cell for the result.

  • Type:
    =IF(A1>10,"High","Low")

  • Press Enter.
    The cell now returns either “High” or “Low” depending on A1.

Lookup example (VLOOKUP)

Return a value from a table based on a lookup:

  • Suppose:

    • Lookup value in B1
    • Table in A2:B10 (first column is what you search, second is what you want back)

  • In the result cell, type:
    =VLOOKUP(B1,A2:B10,2,FALSE)

  • Press Enter.
    The cell returns the matching value from column 2.

More flexible lookup (INDEX + MATCH)

  • Suppose:
    • Values to return in A2:A10
    • Matching labels in B2:B10
    • Search text in D1
  • Use:
    =INDEX(A2:A10, MATCH(D1, B2:B10, 0))

This returns the value from A2:A10 that lines up with the match in B2:B10.

3. Return only the value, not the formula

If by “return” you mean “keep only the final number/text, not the formula”:

  1. Select the cell(s) with formulas.
  2. Copy (Ctrl + C).
  3. Right‑click → Paste Special → Values (or use Ctrl + Alt + V → V → Enter on Windows).

Now the cell only contains the returned value, not the formula.

4. Using “return” inside longer text

If you’re creating a text block in a cell, you can mix everything:

  • Turn on Wrap Text.
  • Use Alt + Enter to structure content like:
    • Title
    • Bullet‑like lines
    • Notes or comments on separate lines

For example:

Task 1: Done
Task 2: In progress
Task 3: Pending

All inside a single cell, separated with Alt + Enter.

5. Quick HTML table of key shortcuts

Because you asked to get tables as HTML, here’s a compact reference:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Action</th>
      <th>Windows</th>
      <th>Mac</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Add line break (return) inside cell</td>
      <td>Alt + Enter</td>
      <td>Option + Command + Enter</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Toggle Wrap Text</td>
      <td>Home &gt; Wrap Text</td>
      <td>Home &gt; Wrap Text</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Edit active cell</td>
      <td>F2</td>
      <td>Control + U</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Paste values only</td>
      <td>Ctrl + Alt + V, then V</td>
      <td>Edit &gt; Paste Special &gt; Values</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Mini example scenario

Imagine you have a comment cell that should show a short summary with line breaks:

  1. Click the cell (say C2).

  2. Type:
    ="Status: On Track"&CHAR(10)&"Owner: Alex"&CHAR(10)&"Next Step: Review"

  3. Press Enter.

  4. Turn on Wrap Text.

Now C2 shows three lines in one cell:

  • Status: On Track
  • Owner: Alex
  • Next Step: Review

SEO bits (for your post)

  • Main focus keyword to sprinkle naturally: how to return in excel cell
  • Good meta description idea (under 160 characters):
    “Learn how to return in Excel cell: add line breaks with shortcuts, use formulas to return values, and keep only final results instead of formulas.”

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