Merging columns in excel

Merge and unmerge cells

You can’t split an individual cell, but you can make it appear as if a cell has been split by merging the cells above it.

Merge cells

1. Select the cells to merge.

2. Select Merge & Center.

   Important: When you merge multiple cells, the contents of only one cell (the upper-left cell for left-to-right languages, or the upper-right cell for right-to-left languages) appear in the merged cell. The contents of the other cells that you merge are deleted.

Unmerge cells

1. Select the Merge & Center down arrow.

2. Select Unmerge Cells.

Important: 

• You cannot split an unmerged cell. If you are looking for information about how to split the contents of an unmerged cell across multiple cells, see Distribute the contents of a cell into adjacent columns.

• After merging cells, you can split a merged cell into separate cells again. If you don’t remember where you have merged cells, you can use the Find command to quickly locate merged cells.

Merging combines two or more cells to create a new, larger cell. This is a great way to create a label that spans several columns.

In the example here, cells A1, B1, and C1 were merged to create the label “Monthly Sales” to describe the information in rows 2 through 7.

Merge cells

Merge two or more cells by following these steps:

1. Select two or more adjacent cells you want to merge.

   Important: Ensure that the data you want to retain is in the upper-left cell, and keep in mind that all data in the other merged cells will be deleted. To retain any data from those other cells, simply copy it to another place in the worksheet—before you merge.

2. On the Home tab, select Merge & Center.
   

Tips: 

• If Merge & Center is disabled, ensure that you’re not editing a cell—and the cells you want to merge aren’t formatted as an Excel table. Cells formatted as a table typically display alternating shaded rows, and perhaps filter arrows on the column headings.

• To merge cells without centering, click the arrow next to Merge and Center, and then click Merge Across or Merge Cells.

Unmerge cells

If you need to reverse a cell merge, click onto the merged cell and then choose Unmerge Cells item in the Merge & Center menu (see the figure above).

Split text from one cell into multiple cells

You can take the text in one or more cells, and distribute it to multiple cells. This is the opposite of concatenation, in which you combine text from two or more cells into one cell.

For example, you can split a column containing full names into separate First Name and Last Name columns:

Follow the steps below to split text into multiple columns:

1. Select the cell or column that contains the text you want to split.

2. Note: Select as many rows as you want, but no more than one column. Also, ensure that are sufficient empty columns to the right—so that none of your data is deleted. Simply add empty columns, if necessary.

3. Click Data >Text to Columns, which displays the Convert Text to Columns Wizard.

4. Click Delimited > Next.

5. Check the Space box, and clear the rest of the boxes. Or, check both the Comma and Space boxes if that is how your text is split (such as «Reyes, Javiers», with a comma and space between the names). A preview of the data appears in the panel at the bottom of the popup window.

   

6. Click Next and then choose the format for your new columns. If you don’t want the default format, choose a format such as Text, then click the second column of data in the Data preview window, and click the same format again. Repeat this for all of the columns in the preview window.
   

7. Click the button to the right of the Destination box to collapse the popup window.

8. Anywhere in your workbook, select the cells that you want to contain the split data. For example, if you are dividing a full name into a first name column and a last name column, select the appropriate number of cells in two adjacent columns.

   

9. Click the button to expand the popup window again, and then click the Finish button.

   

Merging combines two or more cells to create a new, larger cell. This is a great way to create a label that spans several columns. For example, here cells A1, B1, and C1 were merged to create the label “Monthly Sales” to describe the information in rows 2 through 7.

Merge cells

1. Click the first cell and press Shift while you click the last cell in the range you want to merge.

   Important: Make sure only one of the cells in the range has data.

2. Click Home > Merge & Center.

   

   If Merge & Center is dimmed, make sure you’re not editing a cell or the cells you want to merge aren’t inside a table.

   Tip: To merge cells without centering the data, click the merged cell and then click the left, center or right alignment options next to Merge & Center.

   If you change your mind, you can always undo the merge by clicking the merged cell and clicking Merge & Center.

Unmerge cells

To unmerge cells immediately after merging them, press Ctrl + Z. Otherwise do this:

• Click the merged cell and click Home > Merge & Center.

  

  The data in the merged cell moves to the left cell when the cells split.

  

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

See Also

Overview of formulas in Excel

How to avoid broken formulas

Find and correct errors in formulas

Excel keyboard shortcuts and function keys

Excel functions (alphabetical)

Excel functions (by category)

Summary:

Does merging rows and columns in Excel seems a tough task for you to perform? Read this tutorial to learn different ways to merge rows and columns in Excel.

Microsoft Excel is a very useful application and can be used for performing various tasks. This is the reason Excel provides various useful functions to make the task easy for the users.

One of the most common tasks that everyone needs performing now and then is merging rows and columns.

But the problem is that performing this is not an easy task and Excel does not provide any tool to do this.

This is quite complicated as merging rows and columns in some cases causes data loss.

As while trying to combine two or more rows in the worksheet by making use of the Merge & Center button (Home tab > Alignment group), you will start getting the error message:

“The selection contains multiple data values. Merging into one cell will keep the upper-left most data only.”

And if you click OK, merged cells would contain just the value of the top-left cell and as a result, entire other data will be removed.

So this is what leads you to Panic situation!!!

To get rid of this, today in this article I am sharing different ways to easily merge rows and columns in excel without losing any data.

Below check out the fixes on how to merge rows in Excel or how to merge columns in Excel.

There are different methods for combining row and columns text in Excel. Here check the ways one by one to merge data without losing it. First, check how to merge rows in Excel.

Part 1# How To Merge Rows in Excel

When it comes to merging the Excel rows there are two ways that allow you to merge rows data easily.

1. Merge Excel rows using a formula
2. Combine multiple rows using the Merge Cells add-in

1. How to Merge Multiple Rows using Excel Formulas

Excel provides various formulas that help you combine data from different rows. Possibly the easiest one is the CONCATENATE function. So here checks out some examples for concatenating numerous rows into one:

• Merge rows with spaces between data: For example =CONCATENATE(B1,” “,B2,” “,B3)
• Combine rows without any space between the values: For example =CONCATENATE(A1,A2,A3)
• Merge rows > separate the values with comma: For Example =CONCATENATE(A1,”, “,A2,”, “,A3)

Now check how the CONCATENATE formula works on the real data.

• On the sheet choose an empty cell and type the formula into it. Type the formula as per the data rows
• And copy the formula across entire other cells in the row.

• Now, simply you are having several data rows merged into one row.

2. How to Combine Rows in Excel using the Merge Cells Add-in

The Merge Cells add-in is used for merging various types of cells in Excel. This allows you to merges the individual cells and also combines data from entire rows or columns.

Please Note: You need to download a merge cell add-ins for third-party sites available online. Search in Google for add-ins.

Follow the given steps to combine two or more rows in your table:

1. Choose rows you are looking to merge > click on the Merge Cells icon.
2. Now the merge cells dialog window opens with a table or range selected already. And in the upper part of the window, you can see the three basic things:

• • How you want to join cells – For combining rows of data > choose “column by column“.
  • How to separate merged values with – an array of standard separators is available to choose from > comma, space, semicolon, and a line break. So select the separator as per your desire.
  • Where you need to place the merged cells > either the top cell or bottom cell.

1. Now check the lower part of the Windows to check if you need any additional options:

• • Clear the content of selected cells – Choose this if need data to remain in the merged cells only.
  • Merge all areas in the selection – This option allows you to merge rows in two or more non-adjacent ranges.
  • Skip empty cells and Wrap text – Well, these are self-explanatory.
  • Lastly, Create a backup copy of the worksheet – This option is checked by default.  It is just a precaution that keeps you on the safe side and prevents the risk of data loss.

1. Click the Merge button > to check the result – possible the merged rows of data separated by line breaks.

So, these are the two ways that allow you to merge rows in Excel without any data loss. Now, check out the ways on how to combine two columns in Excel.

Part 2# How To Merge Columns In Excel 

Here check out the 3 ways to merge data from several columns into one without using VBA macro.

• Merge two columns using formulas
• Combine columns data via NotePad
• The fastest way to join multiple columns

1. Merge Two Columns using Excel Formulas

1. Into your table > insert a new column > in the column header place the mouse pointer > right-click the mouse > select Insert from the context menu. Name the newly added columns for eg. – “Full Name”

2. In the cell D2, write the formula: =CONCATENATE(B2,” “,C2). The B2 and C2 are the addresses of First Name and Last Name. And in the formula, the quotation marks “” is the separator that will be inserted between merged names any other symbol can be used as a separator e.g. a comma.

3. Just like this, join data from several cells into one by making use of any separator of your choice.

4. Simply, copy the formula to other cells of the Full Name column. If the First name or the Last name is deleted, then the corresponding data in the Full name Column will also be gone.

5. Next, try converting the formula to a value so that you can remove the unnecessary columns from the Excel worksheet. Choose entire cells with data in the merged column (choose the first cell in “Full Name” Column > press Ctrl +Shift + Arrow Down)

6. Now copy the contents of the columns to clipboard > right click on the cell in the same column (“Full Name”) > choose “Paste Special” context menu > choose “Values” radio button > click OK.

7. Now remove “First Name” & “Last Name” columns that are not required. Click the column B header > press and hold Ctrl > click column C header.

8. After that make a right-click on any selected columns > select Delete from the context menu.

9. This is it, now you have successfully merged the names from 2 columns into one.

2. Combine columns Data via Notepad

This is another way that allows you to merge several columns. Here you don’t need any formulas. This is suitable for combining adjacent columns to make use of the same delimiter for all of them.

For Example: If looking for combining 2 columns with First Names and Last Names into one:

1. Choose both columns you need to merge: Click B1 > press Shift + ArrrowRight for choosing C1 > then hit Ctrl + Shift + ArrowDown for choosing entire data cells with data in two columns.

• And copy data to clipboard > open Notepad > insert data from the clipboard to the Notepad

• Then copy tab character to clipboard > hit Tab right in Notepad > hit Ctrl + Shift + LeftArrow > press Ctrl + X.
• After that Replace Tab characters in Notepad with the separator, you require.
• Hit Ctrl + H for opening the “Replace” dialog box > paste the Tab character from the clipboard in Find what field > type the separator Space, comma etc in “Replace with” field. Hit the Replace All button > to close the dialog box press Cancel

• Now select the entire text in the Notepad and copy it to Clipboard.
• Then switch back to Excel worksheet (press Alt + Tab) > choose B1 cell and paste text from Clipboard to your table.

• And rename column B to “Full Name“ and remove the “Last name” column.

So, this is the second way that allows you to merge columns in Excel without any data loss.

3. Join Columns Using Merge Cells Add-in For Excel

This is the easiest and quickest way for combining data from numerous Excel columns into one. Just make use of the third party merge cells add-in for Excel.

And with the merge cells add-in you can merge data from many cells by using any separator you like (for example carriage return or line break). With this, you can join row by row, column by column, or merge data from the selected cell into one without any loss.

There are many third-party add-ins online sites that allow you to download the add-ins and merge the cells easily in just a few clicks.

Conclusion:

So this is all about merging rows and columns in Excel without any data loss.

Follow the given steps to combine text in rows and columns easily.

Hope the given different steps will allow you to perform the task easily in the rows and column. Here I have described different methods of merging rows and columns data in Excel without any data loss.

So make use of anyone that you find easy for you.

However if in case you come to face any issue or data loss situation in Excel then make use of the MS Excel Repair Tool. This is the best tool that allows you to repair and recover data from the corrupted, damaged Excel file.

Additionally, you can learn advanced Excel to become more productive and easily utilize Excel functions and formulas.

Note: This tutorial on how to combine two columns in Excel is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365. 

Manually merging columns in Excel can take a lot of time and effort. Here’s how to combine two columns in Excel the easy way. 

In this article, you will learn: 

1. How to Combine Columns in Excel Sheets?
   • How to Combine Two Columns in Excel With the CONCAT Function?
   • How to Combine Two Columns in Excel With the Ampersand Symbol?
   • How to Combine Multiple Columns in Excel into One column?
2. How to Format Combined Columns in Excel?
   • How to Insert a Space Between Combined Cells of the Columns?
   • How to Correctly Display Dates and Currency in Combined Cells?
   • How to Add Additional Text in Combined Cells?
3. How to Remove the Formula from the Combined Columns?
4. How to Merge Columns in Excel? 

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How to Combine Columns in Excel Sheets?

Let’s say, for example, you have two separate columns containing the first and last names of your customers. Now, you want to combine these two columns into a single column that contains the full names of the customers. 

There are two methods to go about doing this. You can either use the CONCAT formula method or use the ampersand method. Both of these methods are equally easy to use and I’ll break them down one by one in the following sections. 

How to Combine Two Columns in Excel with the CONCAT Function?

1. Click on the destination cell where you want to combine the two columns. 

1. Enter the formula: =CONCAT(Column 1 Cell, Column 2 Cell). 

Here, replace Column 1 Cell with the name of the first cell of column 1 and Column 2 cell 

with the name of the first cell of column 2. 

In this example, it is going to look like this: =CONCAT(A2,B2)

1. Drag the formula to the entire cell range, as long as you need to. 

How to Combine Two Columns in Excel with the Ampersand Symbol?

1. Click on the destination cell where you want the combined columns to appear.

1. Enter the formula, in this format =Column Cell 1&Column Cell 2

Here, replace Column 1 Cell with the name of the first cell of column 1 and Column 2 cell 

with the name of the first cell of column 2. 

In this example, it is going to look like this: =A2&B2 

1. Drag the formula to the data entire range.

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Excel Conditional Formatting -the Best Guide (Bonus Video)

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How To Use Excel Countifs: The Best Guide

How to Combine Multiple Columns in Excel into One Column?

If you want to combine multiple columns in Excel into one column using the above two methods, follow these steps:

1. If you are using the CONCAT formula, keep adding the cell references from the extra columns inside the formula.  For example, if you want to combine the column C along with columns A and B, the formula would be this: =CONCAT(A2, B2, C2)

1. If you are using the ampersand method, keep adding the new cell references in the same format. For example, if you want to combine column C along with columns A and B, the formula would be this: =A2&B2&C2

How to Format Combined Columns in Excel?

While the above methods have technically combined the columns, their results are not always accurate. Let’s use the combined full names from the previous example. Let’s say that the first name and last name are not separated by a space. In this section, I’ll show you how to avoid such errors while combining columns in Excel. 

How to Insert a Space Between Combined Cells of the Columns?

To insert a space between two cells of the combined columns, just add a dummy space between the cell references in the formula using the character: “ “ 

For example, if you are using the CONCAT function, it will look like this:

• =CONCAT(A2,“ ”,B2)

Similarly, If you are using the ampersand method, your formula should look like this:

• =A2&“ ”&B2

How to Correctly Display Dates and Currency in Combined Cells?

If the columns you combine contain any special formatting like dates, currency, or accounting, Excel will automatically strip the formatting before it combines the columns. 

To avoid this, you can use the TEXT function to convert this special formatting into text before combining them together. 

For example, if you want to combine two dates together to form a date range, use either one of the following formulas:

• =TEXT(A2,”dd/mm/yy”)&”-“&TEXT(B2,”dd/mm/yy”)

• =CONCAT(TEXT(A2,”dd/mm/yy”),”-“,TEXT(B2,”dd/mm/yy”))

In this example, A2 and B2 contain the original dates in proper date format. 

How to Add Additional Text in Combined Cells?

Sometimes, you may need to add additional text in between or after the combined cells. To do this, follow the same technique you followed when you added spaces. Insert your custom text in between double quotes. 

For example, if you want to add the phrase “was born on” in-between names and date of birth columns, you can use either one of these two formulas: 

=CONCAT(A2,” expires on “,TEXT(B2,”dd/mm/yy”))

=TEXT(A2,”dd/mm/yy”)&”-“&TEXT(B2,”dd/mm/yy”)

How to Remove the Formula from the Combined Columns?

The combined column that you created, using the above methods is going to be dynamic. That means any change in the original values will affect the values in the combined column. To prevent this, copy the values of the combined column and paste them as values in the same column, or even a different column. 

How to Merge Columns in Excel? 

If you don’t want to combine the values of two columns, but want to just merge two columns into one instead, you can follow these steps: 

1. Select the cells or columns that you want to merge.
2. Click on the “Merge & Centre” option on the “Home” tab. 

Excel will merge the selected columns into one column. 

Note: Please keep in mind that this will only keep the value from the upper-left corner cell and clear all other values. 

Suggested Reads:

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Closing Thoughts

That’s all folks. In this guide, I have shown you how to combine two columns in Excel using the easiest methods. Try using these methods in a practice worksheet and let us know if you have any questions about it. 

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