Merging cells is often used when a title is to be centered over a particular section of a spreadsheet. When a group of cells is merged, only the text in the upper-leftmost box is preserved.
To merge a group of cells:
- Highlight or select a range of cells.
- Right-click on the highlighted cells and select Format Cells....
- Click the Alignment tab and place a checkmark in the checkbox labeled Merge cells.
To merge a group of cells and center the text, you can also use the Merge and Center button on the Excel tool bar. Again, this will only preserve the text in the upper-leftmost cell.
- Highlight or select a range of cells.
- Click the Merge and Center button on the toolbar.
Excel 2019 (Windows)
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.
Excel 2011 (Mac)
2. On the Home tab, select Merge & Center
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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