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What is a Row? What is a Column?

Updated on Jun 29, 2026

Rows and columns are the structural units of every RadSpreadProcessing worksheet. Use this article to understand how rows and columns are identified, what sizing options they provide, and which related APIs help you work with them in code.

Row and Column Addressing

A worksheet organizes cells into rows and columns. Rows are groups of cells on the same horizontal line. Each row is identified by a number - the first row has index 1 and the last row is 1048576.

Columns are groups of cells stacked on the same vertical line. Each column is identified by a letter or combination of letters - the first column is A and the last column is XFD.

A cell sits at the intersection of one row and one column, and its address combines the column letter and row number. For example, B3 refers to the cell in column B, row 3.

A spreadsheet grid showing labeled rows (numbers on the left) and columns (letters at the top)

Row Height

Rows offer several approaches for determining their height:

OptionDescription
Default HeightEach row has a default height of 20. When the row does not have an explicitly set height, it appears with its default height.
HeightAllows you to make a given set of rows appear with a fixed height.
Auto FitSets the height of a specific row based on the content of all cells in the row. The height is determined by the cell with the tallest content.

Column Width

Columns offer several approaches for determining their width:

OptionDescription
Default WidthEach column has a default width of 65. When the column does not have an explicit width set, it appears with its default width.
WidthAllows you to make a given set of columns appear with a fixed width.
Auto FitSets the width of a specified column based on the content of all cells in the column. The width is determined by the cell with the widest content.

For more information about setting row height and column width, see Resizing Rows and Columns.

See Also