Three ways to combine columns in Excel

When creating tables in Excel, you often need to combine multiple columns. This, at first glance, a simple task for some users becomes a difficult test. The main thing is to know the procedure for performing the merger. It is about how to combine the columns in Excel, and will be described in this article.

Merge procedure

If you decide to combine 2 Excel columns, then you can choose from three different methods, which will be discussed in the article. It is worth explaining in advance that they differ from each other, and in some cases the execution of a task depends directly on the chosen method. Conventionally, they can be divided into two groups: those that are performed by formatting the table, and those for which you must resort to a special function. First things first.

Method 1: through the "Cell Format"

So, the first way to combine columns in Excel is to use the context menu. This method belongs to the formatting category. To complete the task, do the following:

1. Select the top cells of the table columns that you want to combine.
2. Right-click on the selection (RMB).
3. In the list of options, click on "Format Cells".
4. A window will appear where you need to go to the Alignment tab.
5. Among the other options that appear, find “Merging Cells” and check the box next to this item.
6. Click OK.

As you can see, immediately after performing these actions, the selected cells merged into one. However, this does not solve our problem, because it is necessary to combine the columns. Therefore, we move on to the second stage:

1. Go to the main tab.
2. Select the merged cell.
3. In the panel, click on the item “Format by sample”. It is located in the “Clipboard” group and has a brush icon.
4. Select the remaining unconnected column cells.

Now the problem can be considered solved, because all the cells in the columns are combined. However, it should be borne in mind that some of the data in them is lost. To be more precise, only the information entered in the first column on the left remains.

Method 2: using the button on the ribbon

We have already figured out one way to combine the two columns in Excel. But, as they said at the very beginning, there will be three of them in total. The second method also involves the use of formatting tools, but for many it will seem an order of magnitude simpler:

1. Select the columns you want to combine. It is important for this to select not the column cells, but the columns themselves. To do this, holding the left mouse button (LMB), drag the cursor over the letters of the columns located on top of the first row of the sheet.
2. Go to the main tab.
3. On the toolbar, click Merge and Center.
4. From the list, select the "Merge by Rows" option.

Immediately after all the actions are completed, the columns will be merged, but, as in the previous method, some of the information will be lost. So we have completed the analysis of the second method, which explains how to combine columns in Excel.

Method 3: using the function

If you want to combine the columns in Excel without losing data, then this is done not through formatting tools, but using the special “CONNECT” function. It is her that we will consider now.

1. Select the cell in which you want to place the data of two cells, thereby combining them.
2. Click on the “Insert Function” button. It is located to the left of the line of formulas.
3. In the window that appears, you need to find and highlight “CLICK” from the list of all functions.
4. Click the OK button.

Immediately after you do this, a window will appear in which you need to enter the arguments of the selected function. In the first text field "Text 1", enter a link to the first cell of the column that you want to combine. In the second field, respectively, "Text 2", enter a link to the second cell in the column. Finally, click OK. After that, to combine all the rows of the columns, select the cell with the function, move the cursor to the lower right corner, hold down LMB and drag the cursor down.

Conclusion

So we have examined all the ways of combining columns in Excel. As can be noted, all of them are largely different from each other and are suitable in certain situations. So, if you need to quickly combine the columns into cells, it is better to use the second method, and if you can not lose some of the data during the combination, then the third.