How to Merge Cells in Excel

How can you merge cells in Excel when you want the data from multiple cells into one cell? It is not a difficult task, and there are many methods present in Excel that can be used to merge cells easily. There are several shortcuts for Windows and Mac that quickly merge cell data of multiple cells into one, which saves your time, and is as efficient as the other long methods. In this article, we will learn how to merge cells in Excel using different methods and shortcuts.

Table of Contents:

• What Is Cell Merging in Excel?
• Method 1: Merge & Center
• Method 2: Merge Across
• Method 3: Center Across Selection
• How to Merge Cells in Excel with a Shortcut
  • Windows
  • Mac
• How to Merge Data from Two Cells?
  • Method 1: Using the CONCAT Function in Excel
  • Method 2: Using the TEXTJOIN Function in Excel
• Uses of Merging Cells
• Best Practices of Merging Cells
• Conclusion

What Is Cell Merging in Excel?

Cell Merging in Excel is the process of combining two or more adjacent cells into a single larger cell. Every cell in Excel is defined by a unique address (like A1, B2, etc.), but only the content of the upper-left cell is retained after merging the cells, and the content in the other cells will be deleted automatically. This process does not perform a mathematical operation and is a formatting tool used mainly for display purposes, like creating titles, center headings, or improving the visual layout of an Excel worksheet.

Merging Cells in Excel is important

• To create a centered title across a table.
• To improve the visual appearance of a worksheet.
• To group the data or headings together for clarity and design purposes.

Various methods can be used to merge cells in Excel. Let us understand them in detail.

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Method 1: Merge & Center

Merge & Center is a built-in feature in Excel that allows you to combine multiple cells into one big cell and center-align the content inside the merged cell. This is commonly used to create titles or headers across several columns in an Excel sheet.

Steps to Merge Cells in Excel Using Merge & Center

Now, let us discuss the steps to merge cells in Excel using the Merge & Center method.

Step 1: Open Excel and Select the Cells

Open your Excel sheet and select the cells you want to merge.

Note: Make sure that one of the selected cells has content. If more than one has content, then Excel will keep only the value of the top-left cell, and the data of the other cells will be deleted.

Step 2: Go to the Home Tab

Look at the top of Excel, then click on the Home tab.

Step 3: Click on Merge & Center.

In the Alignment group of the Home tab, find the Merge & Center button. Click on Merge & Center.

Step 4: The cells are merged, and the text is centered.

Method 2: Merge Across

Merge Across is a cell merging technique in Excel that merges cells horizontally across each selected row, without affecting the vertical structure of the worksheet and without centering the text. When you use the Merge Across method, Excel will go through each selected row one by one and merge the cells across columns in that row only.

Steps to Merge Cells in Excel Using Merge Across

Now, let us discuss the steps to merge cells in Excel using the Merge Across method.

Step 1: Open Excel and Select the Cells

Open your Excel file and select the cells where you want to apply the Merge Across method.

Step 2: Go to the Home Tab

Click on the “Home” tab at the top of Excel.

Step 3: Click the Dropdown Beside Merge & Center

In the Alignment group, locate the “Merge & Center” button. Then, click the small arrow next to it to open more options.

Step 4: Select Merge Across

Click on “Merge Across” from the dropdown.

Step 5: Now the Cells in Excel Are Merged Row-by-Row

Each selected row will have its cells merged across columns, without centering the content.

Note: Merge Across does not merge cells vertically, and it works only across rows

Method 3: Center Across Selection

The Center Across Selection method in Excel is a formatting feature that visually centers text across multiple cells without actually merging them. Unlike the Merge & Center method, which combines cells into one, this method keeps all selected cells separate but makes it look like the text is centered across them. It is mainly used when merging cells can break Excel features like sorting, copying, filtering, and pasting.

Steps to Merge Cells in Excel Using Center Across Selection

Now, let us discuss the steps to merge cells in Excel using the Center Across Selection method.

Step 1: Open Excel and Select the Cells

Open your Excel sheet, and select the range of cells in which you want to center the text.

Note: Make sure your text is only in the first (leftmost) cell.

Step 2: Open the Format Cells Dialog

There are two ways to open this:

• Method 1: Right-click on the selected cells, then click on Format Cells.

• Method 2: Go to the Home tab, in the Alignment group, and click the small diagonal arrow at the bottom-right corner. This opens the Format Cells dialog box.

Step 4: Choose Center Across Selection

Under the Horizontal dropdown (in the Text alignment section), choose Center Across Selection, then click on OK.

Step 5: Text is Now Centered Across Cells

Your text will now appear centered across the selected range, even though the cells are not actually merged, and you can select, edit, and use each cell individually.

How to Merge Cells in Excel with a Shortcut

Instead of using the mouse to find and click the Merge button every time, keyboard shortcuts can help you do it much faster. This is especially helpful for professionals working with Excel regularly. Keyboard shortcuts are sequences of keys that trigger Excel commands, saving time and reducing hand movement between the mouse and keyboard. Now, let us discuss the shortcuts for Windows and Mac.

1. Windows

Shortcut keys to merge cells in Excel in Windows are as follows:

Shortcut 1: Merge Cells

This shortcut merges the selected cells into one single cell, without centering the content.

• Select the cells you want to merge. Then, press the Alt + H
• Then press M
• Once again, press M

Shortcut 2: Merge & Center

This shortcut merges the selected cells and automatically centers the content.

• Select the cells you want to merge. Then, press the Alt + H
• Press M
• And at last, press C

Shortcut 3: Merge Across

This shortcut merges each row independently across columns and is mainly useful for multi-row selections (e.g., A1:C3).

• Select multiple rows and columns (e.g., A1 to C3).
• Then press Alt + H
• Press M
• And at last, press A

Excel will merge cells from A1 to C1, A2 to C2, and A3 to C3, but will not merge rows together.

2. Mac

Shortcut keys to merge cells in Excel for Mac are as follows:

• Select the cells that you want to merge
• Press Command + Option + M
• The cells will be merged into one cell without centering.

Note: Mac shortcut keys may vary based on the Excel version and keyboard layout.

How to Merge Data from Two Cells?

There are two main methods to merge the data of the two cells. These are:

Method 1: Using the CONCAT Function in Excel

The CONCAT function in Excel is used to combine the text from two or more cells into a single string. It is available in Excel 2016 and later, but not supported in Excel 2013 or earlier.

Below is the syntax of the CONCAT function in Excel:

=CONCAT(text1, text2, ...)

In the above formula, text1 and text2 are the values or cells that you want to join together.

Steps to Merge Cells in Excel Using the CONCAT function

Now, let us discuss how to merge cells in Excel using the CONCAT function.

• Select the cell where you want the result.
• Use the CONCAT function as follows

  • =CONCAT(A1, " ", B1)

Now, press Enter, and the combined data will appear in the selected cell.

Method 2: Using the TEXTJOIN Function in Excel

The TEXTJOIN function is used to combine text from multiple cells by inserting a delimiter, such as a space, comma, or dash, between each text value. It is more flexible than the CONCAT function because you can specify a separator (like a comma, space, etc.) between the cells.

Below is the syntax of the TEXTJOIN function in Excel:

=TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, [text2], ...)

In the above formula,

• A delimiter is the character(s) to insert between the text values (e.g., ” “, “, “, “-“)
• Ignore_empty is TRUE to skip empty cells, FALSE to include them
• text1 and text2 are the values or cells that you want to join together.

Steps to Merge Cells in Excel Using the TEXTJOIN function

Now, let us discuss how to merge cells in Excel using the TEXTJOIN function.

• Select the Cell Where You Want the Result
• Type the TEXTJOIN() Formula as below
  • =TEXTJOIN(” “, TRUE, A1, B1)
• Press Enter

Uses of Merging Cells

Some of the common use cases for merging cells in Excel are:

• Creating a Heading: Merging cells in Excel is a good way to create a main heading, which increases the readability of the Excel sheet. For example, instead of separate column headers like ‘Name’, ‘Age’, and ‘City’, you can merge the top row and label it as ‘Employee Details’.
• Generating Labels: Merging cells in Excel is used to generate labels in the sheet, which gives the groups for your related data that is present in the rows. For example, you can merge a set of cells vertically in the first column and label them as “North Region”, “South Region”, etc, which will give a clear visual grouping of data and help users to understand the structure easily.
• Making Labels: Creating labels is helpful when you want to create a table from your Excel sheet to present the data in an organized way. The table will have a label as per the Excel sheet, and hence make it organized. For example, if your Excel sheet has a list of items you sold, you can add labels like “Item Name,” “Number Sold,” and “Cost.” These labels go at the top of each column and help you and others understand what the data means.

Note: Making Labels is manual or semi-manual, and generating labels is automated or dynamic, and uses formulas.

• Combining Data: Merging also works when you want to combine data from multiple cells into one cell, for example, combining the Apartment Number and Lane number in Excel makes the data more informative as an address.

Best Practices of Merging Cells

Some of the best practices that should be used while merging the cells in Excel are:

• Avoid merging cells in data tables: Merging cells inside the tables can break important features of the Excel sheet, like sorting, filtering, and copying, and can also cause formula errors.
• Merge cells only when really needed: Do not merge the cells just for decoration, only merge them when it improves the readability or layout of the Excel sheet, such as for headings or titles.
• Use clear labels in merged cells: If you are merging cells for titles or headings, you should write a full and clear description like “First Name” instead of something too short like “Name”.
• Keep merged areas small and simple: Avoid merging large blocks of cells, because it makes your worksheet harder to work with, especially when you are selecting or resizing the rows and columns.
• Use the TEXTJOIN or CONCAT function to combine cell contents: Merging of cells only joins the space, not the data inside it, hence, if you want to merge the values of multiple cells, use formulas like TEXTJOIN() or CONCAT() so that no data is lost.

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Conclusion

From the above article, we concluded that merging cells in Excel is very helpful in many cases, as it makes the Excel sheet informative and readable for the users. There are many ways to merge cells in Excel, using methods such as Merge & Center, Merge Across, and Center Across Selection. There are several shortcuts also for merging cells in Excel for Windows and Mac, which reduce user time for complex methods. There are many uses for it, like creating headings and labels, combining data from the rows, and so on. However, it should not be done only for decorating the Excel sheet; it should be done carefully and only when it is required.

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