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How to Combine Cells in Google Sheets (The Easy Way!)
In this article we will show you exactly how to combine cells in Google Sheets. Just follow the simple steps below:
How to Combine Two Cells in Google Sheets
1. Select the Cells to combine
Some ways you can select the cells are the following:
- Click and hold down on a cell and drag the cursor to cover the range to combine then releasing it
- Select them individually while holding the Shift key
2. Select Merge cells
There is a shortcut to merge cells without going through the Format option in the main menu of Google Sheets. The icon is located along the main toolbar alongside the Borders icon and the Fill Color icon.
3. Click Ok on the pop-up box
A pop-up box will appear reminding you that only the top-leftmost value is retained in the merged cell. Click Ok.
They are now merged:
Screencap of the process
FAQs
Can I use this method to combine two nonadjacent cells?
No, they have to be adjacent.
Can I combine three or more cells using this method?
Yes. However, they should be arranged so that its whole shape is still a rectangle when merged. You cannot merge them to form an L-shaped, for example.
Can I use this method to combine data as well?
No, because this method only retains the data from the first cell.
If you want to combine only the data, check our tutorial about how to do so in Google Sheets.
How can I combine both the cells and the data?
You need to do some extra steps:
1. Identify the input
For this example, they are A1 and B1.
2. Use CONCAT function
The CONCAT function can be used to combine the data from two sources. Its syntax is
=CONCAT(cell1,cell2)
Where cell1 and cell2 contain the data. If you want to combine three or more of them, use the CONCATENATE function:
=CONCATENATE(cell1,cell2,cell3,...)
Where cell1, cell2, and cell3 contain the data. For our example, we want to combine the data in A1 and B1 using the CONCAT function. The resulting formula is
=CONCAT(A1,B1)
The result of the formula is:
3. Copy the cell containing the formula and paste it as value
We need to do this in order to keep the result of CONCAT formula when we merge them in the next step. Right-click on the cell containing the formula, copy it using the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+C in Windows and ⌘+C in Mac), select Paste special, then select Values only.
This will replace the formula with its output value.
4. Apply Merge cells command in the toolbar
The icon for Merge cells command is just along the toolbar.
A pop-up box will appear reminding you that only the top-leftmost value will be preserved. Click OK.
Result:
5. Copy the cell containing the value and paste it as value again
You can use the keyboard shortcuts in doing this:
- Copy: Ctrl+C (Windows); ⌘+C (Mac)
- Paste: Ctrl+V (Windows); ⌘+V (Mac)
Output:
You can clean it up by deleting the cell we use to temporarily hold the data.
