How to Merge Cells in Excel

If your worksheet looks cluttered and headers do not fit properly across columns, you need to merge cells. Merging cells is used to format headers, titles, and tables. In this article, you will learn how to merge cells in Excel.

Key Takeaways:

• Merge cells combines two or more cells into a single cell
• It is done to create clean titles and headers.
• Merge & Center can combine and center selected cells.
• Unmerge cells to separate merged cells.
• Center Across Selection can make the cells look merged without actually merging it.

Why I Use Merging in Excel

When I’m creating a spreadsheet for a budget, sales report, or party guest list, I often want a title or heading. It makes the spreadsheet look clean and centered. If I leave the title in one single cell, it looks misaligned, awkward, and amateurish.

Merging cells combines two or more adjacent cells into a single larger cell. After merging, only the value from the upper-left cell is kept. Any data in the other selected cells is permanently deleted.

 

How to Merge Cells

STEP 1: Make sure to select all of the cells you want to merge together:

STEP 2: Go to Home > Alignment > Merge & Center

The top row is now merged together!

Next is let us see how easy it is to undo the merging.

How to Unmerge Cells

STEP 1: Make sure to select the single merged cell that you want to unmerge:

STEP 2: Go to Home > Alignment > Merge & Center > Unmerge Cells

Now your cells are now unmerged!

 

Tips & Tricks

• Merging can mess with sorting and filtering – If I merge cells in the middle of a table, Excel often refuses to sort or filter the data because merged cells make it tricky to keep everything aligned. So I usually only merge cells in header rows or areas of the sheet that aren’t part of a data table.
• You lose data in non-top-left cells when merging – If the cells I’m merging all have something in them, Excel will only keep what’s in the top-left cell. This can be frustrating if you don’t notice it right away. My workaround is to always check and move my content into the top-left cell before merging.
• Merge & Center is not the only option – The “Merge & Center” button is the most common choice, but there are also Merge Across and Merge Cells options in the dropdown. Merge Across keeps the text alignment as it is without centering it, and Merge Cells merges without centering.

• Keyboard shortcuts – Use Alt + H + M + C to quickly merge and center without touching the mouse.
• Use “Center Across Selection” instead – This one’s a pro tip: If I just want my text to look centered across multiple columns without actually merging the cells, I can use “Center Across Selection” from the Format Cells dialog. This keeps my columns separate, which means sorting and filtering still work fine.

 

FAQs

What happens to the data when I merge cells in Excel?

When you merge cells, Excel retains only the data from the top-left cell of the selection. All other cell content is deleted, which means any numbers, text, or formulas in the other cells will be lost.

Why can’t I sort or filter when cells are merged?

If you want merged cells in your table, you may not be able to sort or filter data. Merging cells disrupts the ability of Excel to maintain row alignment.

Is there a faster way to merge cells without using the mouse?

Yes. In Windows Excel, you can use the keyboard shortcut Alt + H + M + C to apply Merge & Center.

How to unmerge cells?

To unmerge cells,

• Select the merged cell
• Go to the Home tab
• Select the arrow next to Merge & Center
• Choose Unmerge Cells

Is there an alternative to merging cells?

Yes. Center Across Selection centers text without merging the cells.