Merging Cells

Merging cells in Excel can be useful when you want to format the look of your worksheet. You can merge two or more contiguous cells, both vertically and horizontally.

In order to do so, go to HOME >> Alignment >> Merge & Center. It’s a drop-down menu under which you will find four buttons:

Merge & Center

Merges selected cells into one larger cell while centering the text horizontally.

Merge Across

Select 6 cells (2×3) and merge them across. You will get 3 cells, one for each row.

Merge Cells

Merges cells into one larger, without centering its contents.

Unmerge Cells

If you want to unmerge previously merged cells, you can use this button.

Example:

Look at the following example. It shows a list of customers from the USA. This table is not formatted in a proper way, so it doesn’t look very professional.

In order to format this table, do the following:

  • Select cells from B2 to F2, then select the Merge & Center button,
  • Now, select cells from B4 to B7, and once again select the Merge & Center,
  • Go to HOME >> Alignment, click Middle Align, then choose HOME >> Alignment >> Rotate Text Up.

If you did everything correctly, you should get the following result.

NOTICE

You can split only those cells that have been previously merged.

NOTICE

When you merge multiple cells into one, only the value of the cell in the upper-left corner is preserved.

NOTICE

You cannot sort merged cells.

Tomasz Decker is an Excel specialist, skilled in data analysis and financial modeling.