In this article:

How to Merge Rows in Google Sheets (The Easy Way!)

May 8, 2024

In this article we will show you how to merge rows in Google Sheets in just a few simple steps.

How to Merge Rows in Google Sheets: 

1. Select the Rows to Merge

The rows must be adjacent. You should cover only the portions with data.

Google Sheets select rows to merge

2. Click Format in the Main Menu

Google Sheets click format in main menu to merge rows

3. Select Merge cells

Google Sheets merge cells option under format 

4. Select Merge Vertically.

Google Sheets merge rows vertically

5. Click OK when the Heads-up! Pop-up box appears.

Google Sheets heads up when merging rows

The merged rows look like this:

Google Sheets rows merged

FAQs

Can I use this to merge two non adjacent rows? 

No, they have to be adjacent.

Can I merge three or more rows using this method?

Yes, just make sure they are adjacent with each other. 

Can I use this method to merge rows of data as well?

No, because this method only retains the data from the first row.

If you want to combine the data, check out our article about how to merge cells and keep data in Google Sheets.

How can I merge both the rows and the data?

Here are the steps:

1. Identify the rows

For this example, they are rows 1 and 2, covering 5 columns from Column A to E. We plan to merge A1 with A2, B1 with B2, and so on. This will result with the values stored along a single row, which is what we want.

Google Sheets identify rows to merge

2. Use formula =CONCAT(cell1,cell2)

The CONCAT function can be used to combine the data from two cells of different rows but along the same column. 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 Row 1 and Row 2 along the same column using the CONCAT function. The resulting formula for column A is

=CONCAT(A1,A2)

The same pattern is followed for the other columns covered by two rows.

Google Sheets CONCAT function to merge row

The result of the formula is:

Google Sheets CONCAT function to merge row output

Apply the same formula to other columns to complete the row by drag-copying the cell to other columns.

Google Sheets concatenate function to merge row extended to other columns

3. Copy the cell containing the formula and paste it as value

We need to do this in order to keep the result of the CONCAT formula when we merge them in the next step. Select the row containing the formula, copy it using the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+C in Windows and  ⌘+C in Mac), select Paste special, then select Values only.

Right click, paste special, values only

This will replace the formula with its output value. 

4. Merge rows vertically

Select the two rows to merge, then go to Format in the main menu, click Merge cells, then select Merge vertically.

Google Sheets merge rows vertically

A pop-up box will appear reminding you that only the top-leftmost value will be preserved. Click OK.

Pop up box warning that merge action only retains the data from the first row

Result:

Merge cells command output

5. Copy the cell containing the value and paste it as value in the merged cells

You can use the keyboard shortcuts in doing this: 

  • Copy: Ctrl+C (Windows); ⌘+C (Mac)
  • Paste: Ctrl+V (Windows); ⌘+V (Mac)

You have to do this for each cell, else Google Sheets will break the merged rows into separate rows again.

Output:

Google Sheets how to combine both rows and data, output

You can clean it up by deleting the row we used to temporarily hold the data.

Related Articles

-Merge Row Shortcut in Google Sheets

-How to Unmerge Cells in Google Sheets

-How to Split Text to Rows in Google Sheets

-How to Split Cells in Google Sheets

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