Knowing the ins and outs of Excel is essential for organizing data, understanding analytics, and getting the most from your marketing efforts. The tool is great for quickly processing vast amounts of data, but it can be overwhelming if you don’t spend the majority of your workday whipping up spreadsheets. Fortunately, a few basic skills are all you need to put together an easy-to-read spreadsheet. One is knowing how to merge cells in Excel. Whether you’re planning blog articles for the upcoming quarter, creating an email list for a targeted campaign, or designing SEO-friendly Google ads, merging cells is a handy way to organize your information.
To sharpen your skills, we’ll cover several ways to combine cells. Don’t want to start from scratch? Use these free Excel templates as a foundation for your own marketing spreadsheets. How to Merge Two Cells in ExcelMerging is a way to turn two small cells into one new, large cell. This is useful for organizing information and creating headers, without the need to resize individual cells. Here’s how to do it. Step 1: Highlight the two adjacent cells you want to merge (I’m merging A1 and B1 in the example). Image Source Step 2: Under the Home tab, click the ‘Merge’ icon and choose ‘Merge Cells’. Image Source Step 3: That’s it! You’ve merged the cells. Image Source Note: When combining cells, only the data in the upper left cell is saved. Make sure to save the information from the other cell so it’s not lost. If you happen to have data in both A1 and B1, Excel won’t simply wipe it. This alert will pop up: Image Source Don’t want to delete the data? Click ‘Cancel,’ and copy/paste the information into a separate document or cell before merging. If you only need the information in the upper-left cell, click ‘OK’ to merge the cells. How to Merge and Center Cells in ExcelSay you’re building a marketing report and want your titles to be centered above your data. Merge and center cells by following these steps. Step 1: Highlight the cells you want to merge. Image Source Step 2: Under the Home tab, click the ‘Merge’ icon and choose ‘Merge & Center.’ Image Source Step 3: Your cells will merge and the data will be centered within the cell. Image Source How to Merge Cells in Excel ShortcutClicking the correct ‘Merge’ function over and over can be a drag if you need to combine a lot of cells. For fast merging, start by highlighting the cells you want to merge. Then, type the following key combinations. Excel Shortcuts for Windows
Excel Shortcuts for OSThe Apple operating system doesn’t have an ALT key, so you have to set up your own shortcut to merge cells.
Image Source How to Merge Multiple Cells in ExcelYou know the basics, but now you want to get creative and merge more than two cells. Depending on your desired spreadsheet layout, you can use the Merge Across, Merge Cells, or Merge & Center function. 1. Merge AcrossThis option is used to merge cells within a single row. You can’t use ‘Merge Across’ to combine cells within a column or across multiple rows. In this example, I’m setting up PPC ads and want to see my description copy in row 17. If I simply resize column F, my table will have too much space between column F and G. Merging multiple cells across row 17 lets me see the copy and keep the table neat. Step 1: Highlight all the cells you want to merge within the row. Image Source Step 2: Under the Home tab, click the ‘Merge’ icon and choose ‘Merge Across.’ Image Source Step 3: The cells merge across the entire highlighted area. Image Source 2. Merge & CenterYou can merge and center multiple cells across rows and down columns. Just remember the data in the upper-left cell is the only information that will stay once merged. In the example below, I use ‘Merge & Center’ to combine rows 15, 16, and 17 with columns F, G, and H. Image Source Image Source 3. Merge CellsThe ‘Merge Cells’ function is ideal to combine multiple adjacent cells across rows and columns. It works just like the ‘Merge & Center’ function, except the data will be left-aligned instead of centered after merging. Image Source How to Merge Cells in Excel Without Losing DataWant to merge cells without losing information from all but the upper left cell? Easy. You can use the ampersand (&) or the CONCATENATE function to combine data from two or more cells. In the example below, I’m creating copy for Instagram and want to combine the caption with its corresponding link. AmpersandStep 1: Choose the cell where you want to put the merged data. Make sure this is separate from the cells you’re merging. Step 2: Type = in the blank cell and select the first cell to combine. Step 3: Type & and use ” ” to leave a space between cell data. Step 4: Type & again before choosing the next cell. Repeat for all the cells you want to combine. An example formula is =D5&” “&E5. Step 5: Hit Enter. In the example, you can see how the text from cells D5 and E5 merged into F5. Image Source CONCATENATE or CONCATThe CONCATENATE function (or CONCAT) is another way to combine two or more text strings together. The formula in Excel is =CONCATENATE (text1,text2,…). Text1 is the first cell to merge and can be a text value, number, or cell reference. Text2 is the next item to join. For this function, you can merge up to 255 items or 8,192 characters. Step 1: Highlight a new blank cell where you want to merge the data. Step 2: In the formula bar, type =CONCATENATE( Image Source Step 3: A formula builder will pop up, allowing you to choose Text1, Text2, and so on. Select the cells you want to merge, in order from first to last. To include spaces between the cell data, you must include ,” “, within the formula. [i.e. =CONCATENATE(D5,” “,E5)] Image Source Step 4: Hit Enter. The data from your selected cells will be combined in the CONCATENATE cell. Image Source Why Can’t I Merge Cells in Excel?A lot can go wrong if your formula or formatting isn’t set up correctly. If you’re struggling to merge cells, try these troubleshooting tips.
How to Unmerge CellsMaybe you got a little excited trying out your new skills and merged one cell too many. Don’t panic. Simply unmerge your cells by following these steps. Image Source
Excel Shortcuts Make Life EasierWhile using spreadsheets can feel intimidating at first, with the tips and shortcuts above, you’ll have it down in no time. Editor’s note: This article was originally published in May 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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