Hello, I have Excel 2007

I have a sheet with rather narrow columns.

Starting with a blank sheet,... if I enter a long text string into the 1st
column (column A) it displays fully as it overlaps the ajacent columns
B,C.... which are empty.

If I enter anything at all into column B, even the null character, or an IF
function which evaluates to null, the text string is truncated to the width
of column A.

Is there any way of getting the text to overlap adjacent columns if their
cells are null ?

( I am aware of the wrap and rotate options, but they would require a large
row height.)

Thanks for all ideas

K